Broken Cadence
by HarmonyRose
Summary: The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon. NejixSakura, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, just this plot  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

**A/N** This is a new story, I'm very excited about this one. It's for the themed challenge on livejournal and though music and violins don't show up this chapter, they will later in the story. A friend of mine suggested the beginning of the plot and I took it and ran with it, which I found out is a very dangerous thing to do.

I want to thank Popping Fresh for beta'ing this and Lady Kaliska suggesting this and then putting up with me as rambled about it, trying to subdue all those little plot bunnies.

**Suggested Listening:** Whisper- Evanescence

_**Chapter one: Far Off Threats**_

Dim, artificial light streamed in through the sole window, adorning the unmistakably masculine bedroom, and illuminating the room and its slumbering occupants. The figure of a slim, unclad woman snuggled against the side of a man in an equal state of undress, could easily be seen in the muted light. The man himself was sleeping soundly after his intimate actions the night before with the warmth curled up next to him. The long, ordinarily pristine chocolate strands of the male's hair were strewn all around him and tangled about the slender female in such a way so that if he moved unconsciously, it would discomfort him and pull him back toward the female, whether he liked it or not. In essence, he had effectively tied himself to the figure against him.

Two sharp knocks disturbed the eerily quiet atmosphere of the room and surrounding world, waking up the slumbering form of the male. His sleepy eyes opened gradually, blinking once, and revealing pupil-less, cold, lavender tinted eyes. Carefully he disentangled himself from his bed partner, doing his best not to wake her and cause certain trouble over his absence from the room. She stirred once as his smooth tresses were extricated from her entangled wrist. The man stole silently toward the still unopened door, pausing only briefly to pull a robe over his muscular, toned body. Satisfied he was indeed decent, the pale-eyed man opened the door, swiftly and silently closing the door behind him. He definitely didn't want to wake that woman up, because she was only good for one thing, and the one thing was certainly not a companion… at least not during the day, the mahogany haired man thought contemptuously about the girl. It wouldn't bode well at all if he spoke that way out loud.

Facing the man that had woken him from his deep slumber, the man with the pallid eyes was taken aback to realize that it was his main advisor. He deeply confided and trusted in the man in front of him. When the aristocrat gathered his bearings from being greeted with the sight of his lazy advisor, he noticed, even in the dim lighting of the corridor, the dismal expression painted in the other man's eyes as well as in the cheerless tilt to his mouth. Something was most certainly wrong.

"Shikamaru, what happened?" he asked, a deep reverberation lacing the man's voice, still husky, as it hadn't been used since the evening before. The nobleman knew that whatever it had been that caused even his lazy confidant to look grim had to be extremely bad news for his domain.

"Lord Neji," the man addressed his master. "Your presence is requested on the mountain for a council meeting between all the gods," the normally languid male addressed his lord. There would be trouble when his master, the lord of the Underworld, found out the reason behind the meeting. It was likely he would be forced by the other gods into doing something the powerful lord didn't want to do.

"Shikamaru, what is this about?" Neji growled, his voice ablaze with suspicion and intimidation. However, the other male was hardly intimidated as he had known the young lord since childhood and had grown up with the fierce looks his high-born friend could pull off. Besides, he did not want to face his master's wrath should he reveal the reason for the meeting; it would cause way more trouble than Shikamaru wanted to deal up with at the moment, or rather at any time.

"It is too troublesome to tell you now, it will be better for you just to hear it at the assembly," the lethargic advisor replied as he turned and headed back through the shadows of the poorly lit hallway. He left the frustrated lord to stare at his slumped back as the extensive hallways of the mansion slowly swallowed him.

The infuriated man glared at the retreating figure until it disappeared from sight. He swiftly rotated to face his door and taking a deep breath, he willed himself to go back into the room. He donned an impassive look, turned the cool, brass door knob, and steeled himself for the commotion that would ensue momentarily. Once through the door, Neji picked up a handful of the woman's hastily discarded clothes and tossed them at the still sleeping woman on the bed. The slim figure rolled over to face him and becoming entangled in the sheet, she smiled at the vision of the beautiful male standing beside the bed.

"Get Out," were the only words that fell from the lips of the male, his cold visage plainly seen by the blond woman.

Her countenance changed in an instant, it became confused, "What do you mean? Don't you want to spend some time with me now that we slept together?" The woman had been trying for the last two years to have a relationship with this rather influential lord and when she was finally able to get him to sleep with her; she was completely confused as to why he didn't want to get to know her better afterward. The blonde's eyes widened, he couldn't mean he used her solely for sex and that he was ordering her out! The cold look on his face told the entire story though and tears clouded her murky jade eyes. She would not let them fall, she would keep her pride. She knew the answer and yet she did not want to accept that he was just discarding her after the love she had poured out and the vigilance she had displayed in pursuing him.

She sat up abruptly, the sheets pooling to her waist and exposing her, but she took no notice, it didn't matter to her right now. She knew she was foolish, but she had to get an answer, she had to know for sure, "Do I mean nothing to you at all?" She had asked her self-condemning question and the silence weighed heavy in between the two occupants, like the silence the moment before an executioner beheads a convicted criminal.

"No," was the callously delivered answer. The tears that had threatened to fall before now streamed down the woman's soft cheeks and pooled at the edge of her chin just before making a final plummet into the silken sheets. She slowly got up, disentangling herself from the bedding at the same time. He had ruined her; she wouldn't ever be able to face the public again. She was mortified and embarrassed. With red-rimmed eyes and sobs wracking her form, she grabbed her clothes and dashed from the room, still unconcerned about her nakedness.

Neji sighed-he hated almost everything about women. He hated the way they always wanted to be in a relationship, the catty ways they turned on their friends and backstabbed their best friends, that sometimes their hair was shinier than his, the tears, the annoying sultry looks they tried to use on him, and most of all--he hated that they all merely wanted to use him for his power, wealth, and influence. They were disgusting creatures, and the only reason he put up with them was so he could enjoy his occasional nights of unabashed pleasure. There were no exceptions to the rules, he had never meant a woman who didn't have at least two of the previously mentioned characteristics and he was sure that he never would. Such a woman did not exist thought Neji, and the contemplation of such a woman would be as foolish as the jade eyed woman's thoughts of love between the two of them. Not that Neji was searching for a woman companion, he had been damaged by enough women in his life to know better.

Remembering he would have to leave in a matter of minutes, the Lord of the Underworld swiftly gathered his clan robes from the small closet in the room. The white clan robes were stained a smoky saffron in the muted light. Donning the robes, the male simply discarded his navy-colored robe to the floor. He figured that one of his maids would take care of it as well as the rest of the messy room. He thought they were well paid, so it wouldn't matter what form he left his estate in. Without another spare thought, the male strode quickly into the hall and toward the direction of the sole gate in and out of the Underworld. He passed not a soul on his way out, since the souls of the dead rarely wandered this close to the gates and undoubtedly not into his palace. The palace was the gloomiest place in the kingdom. The gloom suited the young lord-he never did try to change the atmosphere, because it was a clear representation of his usual emotions and mood.

Nearing the gates, Neji was once again greeted with the sight of his trusted friend, only this time it wasn't a surprise. He walked proudly and with confident steps up to Shikamaru, only sparing the man a slight nod of the head--an indication that his majesty was ready to leave his territory. Without delay, the two companions were let out of the vast Underworld by a single set of guards, who knew without a doubt that if there were to be a delay in opening of the gate, it would be the ruler's wrath they would have to survive through.

Met by a single rowboat, the pair of gentlemen embarked on their journey and sat silently throughout the short ride on the boat. The boat itself was made of old wooden planks, and even though there were many holes lining the bottom of the small vessel, it never sank or so much had a drop of water leak. It was protected by the power of the decrepit ferryman, who in turn was protected by the power of Lord Neji. The aging and dilapidated rower made soft twinkling sounds with the dark water as the single oar dipped in and out of the slow-moving, wide river.

Safely reaching the other side, the two stepped out onto the soft mud of the riverbank, being especially careful not to let the mud seep into their shoes. They still had a ways to travel and muddied shoes would be uncomfortable and unacceptable at the meeting with all the other important lords. It was bad enough that Neji was placed in the dreariest kingdom where no other light besides fake torches penetrated the pungent musky air--to come in dirty would just be an excuse for the other deities to make wisecracks on his position, which was one thing the young lord didn't need or want at the moment. It was not that the powerful lord wasn't respected—in fact, he was greatly respected even by the other lords. He was a very powerful lord, the second most, right after Naruto, the happy-go-lucky god of the sun, sky, and music. The brunette lord never lacked women to play with, because he always had more than enough to satisfy his appetite. Naruto sometimes teased that Neji could just look at a woman and she would come running to him. The divinities never needed money, since they could have whatever they wanted on just a whim, but Neji had more than enough wealth to last him his entire immortal life.

The lord of the Underworld also had the most influence with the mortal humans and the multitude of creatures on the Earth. For the most part, it was because the mortal creatures were scared stiff of the afterlife, and it gave the male a much more leverage on them than the other gods. As for the more difficult, immortal creatures, just the fear he provided with his presence was enough to influence them. All of Neji's traits and authority over living souls granted him respect from the other gods and goddesses. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to stop their stupid teasing. It was true he was stuck with an unpleasant, lowly, and bleak kingdom, especially for a god of his caliber, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. It was what he had inherited, in spite of his now deceased family's former power. It was the domain they had been delegated to many centuries ago.

Turning his neck toward his aid, the aristocratic lord spoke for the first time on their journey, "Did you secure the help of the centaurs to get up the mountain?"

"Of course, my lord. They should be in the clearing just up ahead," Shikamaru mumbled softly just loud enough for his lord to hear. Neji caught the message, he was far too attuned to his lazy genius of a friend and now had impeccable hearing and deciphering abilities.

Coming up on the clearing the traveling men gazed at the two centaurs that were lying in the shade of the trees, waiting for their riders to arrive. Centaurs were truly a sight to behold. They had a horse's body, with rippling smooth muscles, cloaked by russet coat of gleaming fur. The front top of the animal was more human like. A man's torso rose up from the horse flesh adorned with a human neck and head. Both centaurs were most likely related as they had similar features--they both sported the same classic facial features, with a silky rust colored coat and a matching mop of hair. Rising up on folded limbs, the half-horse beasts nodded their noble heads in respect for the lord in their presence. Not bothering to engage in small talk, the centaurs turned to face in the correct direction of the noblemen's destination on top of the mountain. They both continued to wait for the god and sandy haired elf to load their body weight onto their backs.

Seeing the cue for them to mount the animal's back, the two strode towards them, and with all the grace of an expert and an elf, they jumped up unto the half-beast's backs. Holding on with merely the grips on their powerful legs, Neji and Shikamaru were ready to go. Sensing their customer's readiness to go, the two centaurs flexed their muscles and with a mental message of agreement between the two brothers, they shot off sprinting rapidly toward their destination.

* * *

Neji held his head high and clenched his fists beside him, making small cuts in the palm of his hand. This was unacceptable! He would not marry some girl just to have an heir! The nerve of that Ino would not go unpunished--she would owe him a favor one of these days just for suggesting this merit-less idea. Neji's thoughts continued to tumble angrily through his mind, enraged at the audacity to even bring up the topic of marriage.

Tenten pleaded for her friend to understand, "Uchiha Sasuke is stirring up a crowd of civilians, and without the insurance of an heir it is unlikely that you will be able to continue ruling the Underworld."

"I never thought you of all people would endorse a marriage," Neji hissed out heatedly, reminding the goddess of her own vow of celibacy she had made and kept from a young age, nearly a century before.

"While it is true that I wish to remain chaste for eternity I do not disregard the general need for it," the goddess of hunting spat back bitterly, now wasn't the time for Neji to fight them on trivial things. She had her own reasons for celibacy, there was no way she would marry and give up her freedom. It wasn't as if they were asking Neji to do so either, since men weren't confined by their wives in the same way women were confined by their husbands.

"Why is this even a danger to the Underworld? Uchiha Sasuke can't pose such a big threat that we gods can't take care of," Neji purposely tried to goad the more masculine, competitive, and youthful gods into taking divine action against the power-thirsty Uchiha Sasuke.

"The Uchiha is stirring up the people by playing on their naïve nature. He reminds them that after you're dead there won't be anymore Hyuuga to keep the Underworld as forgiving and peaceful as it has been since your family came into power. As fearful as this has the people, Uchiha Sasuke has managed to get large crowds following him and we cannot intervene without the people rebelling and rioting. We also believe the scoundrel is secretly training some military elite to march toward the Underworld to create the very condition of instability the people are afraid of and give merit to his ridiculous ploy. His is blatantly trying to go for your position, and unless you get married we can do nothing about the situation," announced the messenger god, Kiba, who frequently brought messages back and forth between the creatures of Earth and the Gods.

Neji disregarded his words, "He doesn't have an heir either."

"No, but his family is extensive. He has no need of an heir," Shikamaru patiently reminded his Lord.

"This time Sasuke's done too much, I'll fix it this time. You won't have to marry some woman. Dattebayo!" Naruto cut into the conversation, managing to add in his favorite expression and a promise.

"Sorry, but that won't get Neji out of this. He must produce an heir," Gaara the war god spat, thus shooting Neji's dwindling hope into pieces.

Nobody had anything left to say, so all of the gods rose up from their seated positions and began heading toward their respective kingdoms. The pale eyed lord, with his fist still clenched in anger made his way swiftly out of the room and to the ever impatient centaurs that were waiting for their patrons. Shikamaru mumbled a curse sounding suspiciously like, 'troublesome' and shot off quickly trying to catch his master before he was left behind. Finally reaching his lord at the hasty pace the furious god had set he questioned, slightly panting his words, "Would you like me to start a list of all the eligible candidates for you?"

Squeezing his fists even tighter, allowing crimson fluid to mesmerizingly drip and flow in tiny rivers over his knuckles, the noble lord raised his head. He narrowed his eyes and with pride still evident in his stature he answered, "No, in fact I wish for you to bar any more females from entering my estate. The maids and cook can stay, but no other woman is to be allowed into my house."

* * *

Thanks for reading! I don't live for reviews, but some would be nice. :)

HarmonyRose


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, just this plot  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A thanks to Popping Fresh for beta'ing and Lady Kaliska for suggesting the beginning of this plot

**Suggested listening: Sad Violin (Final fantasy 10) on youtube **

**_Chapter two: Musically Inclined_**

Cautious viridian eyes peaked out into the courtyard of an old castle from an ivy-covered window on the second floor. Seeing no one about so late after the castle's occupants had fallen asleep, the figure, clad in an aged ink colored cloak that shadowed all of its features except the bright shade of emerald orbs they possessed, carefully climbed out of the window. The figure grasped the edge of the window with one hand, the other hand held some sort of irregularly-shaped, black case. Not able to keep from falling with the strength in their sole hand forever, the darkly clad person hastily found a foothold in the castle's chunky granite, stone wall. In the dark, the cloaked figure was nearly indistinguishable from the ivy growing up the wall and the figure made its way down to the ground with the practiced ease of an expert.

At last stepping onto the ground the creeping creature turned around, luminescent eyes carefully scanning the surrounding area. Once again satisfied at not getting caught, watched, or followed, the person crept silently alongside the building's wall, careful to stay in the shadows and blend in with the rock and creeping vines. Which wasn't difficult for the figure, as it seemed not to have a defined shape in the absence of light against the building.

When they reached the corner of the castle closest to the ground's main stables, the person peered around the corner. Assured that there was no one still on guard, the figure made a run toward the old, wooden barn.

In the thirty seconds the figure was illuminated by the silvery glow of the moon, a few more feature could be made out; a straight nose, high cheekbones, a smooth face, and full, pastel-pink lips. The gender was also now discernable from the figure's small statue and facial features, it was a female.

Walking into the barn, which was only lit by the moonlight, the woman could just barely discern the nearly endless rows of occupied pins the royal horses were caged in. The cloaked woman quickly strode toward the other end of the stable. Finding an ash-grey warhorse in the fourth to last stall, she hurriedly jumped in and started to gather the bridle and the reins. Gently coaxing the horse to open its mouth, the viridian-eyed girl inserted the bit in the horse's mouth. She put the bridle on the horses long, proud head and then clipped the reins onto the bridle. The female sensed more than knew that she had to hurry, the shift change she was exploiting should be ending soon and unless she wanted to get caught she had to move fast.

Reaching on the other side of the stall door, the woman unlatched the door and led the stocky animal out of the barn. Jumping up and straddling the horse's saddle-less back the girl turned the horse eastward. She put her irregular shaped box in front of her, trying to secure it from falling. As the girl galloped out of the castle grounds, a triumphant smile made its way onto her face. She had escaped without getting caught once again. Not that she couldn't have handled it if she did encounter trouble, but it was a relief to not have to deal with the any extra distractions.

The girl kept the cloak on and continued riding farther away from the castle. On one side all the vast farmland could be seen and to the other side was the dangerous forest. The woman wasn't afraid though, she knew the woods and the creatures that lived in it would never hurt her.

The woman was looking for a small, almost hidden pathway among the densely populated trees. It would take her deep into the forest, near the giant river that separated the imperial city from the next town over. It was nearly impossible to find the small entrance to the pathway without having seen it previously and that made it the perfect getaway for the young woman to escape to. Finding the rock that was at the head of the trail, the woman gathered the reins and led the steed cautiously through the shadowy and eerie woods.

The moonlight cast an odd, nearly creepy light in the forest. All the trees, their limbs, and their leaves were painted with a misty grey, obscuring their true colors. Casting a surreal, hushed, and almost too quiet feeling over the forest. The shadows pranced between trees like flames dancing in a campfire. Leaping, flickering into and out of existence, and darting to new hiding places.

The cloaked female reached a small clearing, just large enough to tie up her horse and stand on the large, slightly upraised, flat rock that was unearthed from the pelting rain that hit country in the warm springs of her country. Taking the case in her left hand the woman dismounted, sliding off the horse like a true equestrian. Giving a quick command to the horse to stay in a foreign language the small-figured woman didn't bother to tie up the animal.

Stepping up onto the rock, her favorite place in the forest and the only reason she came every night, the emerald eyed girl knelt down on one knee. She placed the case in front of her and effortlessly unlatched the two clasps holding the case closed. Reverently opening the case to reveal a beautifully built violin the woman sighed in awe. It was nothing new, she had been seeing the violin for the last year, but just the elegant beauty of the instrument was enough to amaze her.

Night was her favorite time to play violin, the maple wood of the body glistened majestically in the soft, muted light of the moon. The glinting strings contrasted starkly with the ebony of the delicate neck that couldn't be seen in the dark, creating the illusion that the fine violin had been fashioned without the neck to keep the silver strings in place.

The bow was lying untouched in the soft, azure velvet. The horsehair taunt and waiting in anticipation to play, needed only one thing to be ready to make music. Taking the amber rosin from the case, the woman took the bow gently into her hands and ran the glassy solid along the hair of the bow to help increase the quality of the tone the notes would make.

Finishing with that the cloaked woman placed the rosin back with care into the violin case. Taking the violin out and resting the end on her shoulder, the lady placed the bow on a string and began to play a simple scale. After every note the woman tweaked the tension of the string by twisting the tiny knobs by the shoulder rest, purifying the tone.

After she had finished adjusting the stiffness of all four strings to the best position for the sound of the notes, the woman paused with the wooden bow right above the violin. She closed her emerald eyes slowly in concentration and breathed out the air in her lungs. Breathing back in, the girl touched the bow to the maple instrument and started moving the bow and her fingers rapidly in sync with each other. The bow flew over the strings and her nimble fingers scurried over the neck.

The piece of music was a well-known piece, mostly played during independence festivals. It wasn't quite a march, because the tempo was too fast for anyone to march to it. The song was a lively piece that uplifted the people's spirits. It had been the first song her homeland had played after the victory that ended the Elfin wars. The music expressed the rapturous feelings of the people after they realized their families would be coming home soon, the hard times of barely making ends meet was finally over, and lastly that the dreaded cloud of war was lifted off their burdened shoulders.

With her eyes closed the women reminisced while playing the music, remembering that first time she had heard the violin and this piece of music nearly a decade ago. _She had been eleven at the time and true to her nature she had snuck out of the castle when she wasn't supposed to. Staying hidden in the shadows so, she wouldn't be spotted and reported to her mother, the young girl watched the people who were seemingly transfixed on a caravan of people walking toward the city's gate. It had been such a long time since any traveling traders had come and the people were staring amazed at the sight. _

_When the group of people came into the city it became apparent that they weren't traveling merchants. The people tensed up, men kept a hand on their swords, waiting for the men to make one wrong move. Reaching the center of town square the lead man stood and prepared to make his announcement. Smiling the man bellowed, "We've won, the war is over and the King is on his way back to the castle!"_

_There was a slight thread of disbelief that ran through the crowd. Then the woman remembered the joyous shouts people let out. The combined shouts of everyone was so deafening the she remembered having to cover her ears. She had taken in the sight of the people celebrating, many were dancing in the streets and some of the women had tears streaming down their cheeks._

_One of the boys who had been just a little too young to go off to war, ran into his house and came back out. He was a shopkeeper's son and was dressed well for the times. His clothes weren't in need of patching nor were they dirty, but it wasn't the boy that attracted her toward him. It was the instrument he had brought out. It was a violin and it was worn, but the sounds coming from the instrument were heavenly. She gravitated nearer to the boy as she listened to the festive song coming from the instrument. It was beautiful to the girl, both the song and instrument._

_When the song ended she was awoken from her light trance, but she longed to have an instrument like that of her own. She knew her mother and father would never agree to get her a violin. Her father was human and although she loved her father he was stuffy and abhorred music. Her mother held only a bit of persuasion with her father and wouldn't be able to coax him into letting her have one. Their marriage had only been one of convenience and her father hadn't ever fallen in love with her mother. It wasn't as if they fought or anything, they just stayed out of each others presence as much as possible._

_The woman grinned in remembrance, during the short walk out of the town and on the cobblestone path that led toward the castle she had managed to think of hundreds of creative ways to get a violin, some plans including everything from fish to peanut-butter. Less than halfway to the castle which could only be reached by traveling alongside the forest, the Gods had smiled on her, quite literally. _

_A young boy who looked about her age came through the forest and onto the stone pathway to stand before her. His skin glistened with unshed sweat and his breathing was on the heavy side. It looked as if he had run all the way from town. "Sakura," she was startled to realize he knew her name. She tilted her head slightly, she didn't think she had met this particular boy before and she was sure she would have remembered his distinctive features. He had blonde hair and sincere, intense cerulean eyes. Both facial characteristics were uncommon in the area, where dark eyes and an array of shades of brown hair were the predominant features. He was too different for her young mind not to have remembered him._

_The blonde boy panted almost inaudibly once, and then smiled warmly at the vision of the young, green-eyed girl in front of him. "You're very pretty Sakura-chan!" the boy with sapphire eyes exclaimed loudly._

_Her younger self had openly scowled at the boy before moving to start going around the obstacle in her path. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't use my name so openly, there's a reason I'm wearing a cloak," she had informed him curtly._

"_Oh, Sorry Sakura-chan," came the reply, which was more like a stage whisper than softly spoken words. Her eyes had widened a little, she wondered if the boy was stupid. She quickly turned and clapped her hand over his mouth, "Don't say my name I don't want to be found out. What's your name anyways and how do you know me?"_

_"I'm Naruto and I'm going to be the greatest God of the Sun and music ever! That's how I know your name too, because my regent, Jiraiya taught me that I should always know a pretty girl's name," the fair-haired boy jubilantly shouted._

_She had hastened to bow and started to spew out an apology. The girl had heard about this adolescent God, whose father and mother had perished when he was an infant. Naruto didn't let the girl in front of him finish bowing he bent down to her level and got into her face, "Hey Sakura-chan, whatcha doing?"_

_She couldn't help it, he was squinting at her like he'd never seen someone bow before, she started to giggle uncontrollably. She stood up and offered her new acquaintance a smile._

_"Naruto," there was a small, hope-filled pause, "Have you learned to play any instruments yet?"_

_"Of course! What kind of music god would I be if I hadn't learned something in eleven and a half years?" Naruto shouted for all of the world to hear his outraged, or rather outrageous, declaration._

_"A loudmouth with no common sense," the small cloaked girl muttered under her breath while her friend babbled on obliviously._

_"Eh, Sakura-chan did you say something?"_

_"Oh, nothing at all," Sakura smiled sweetly at her new friend. There was no reason to inform Naruto that she was very sarcastic for an eleven year old, besides he probably wouldn't take her teasing comments well. The green-eyed girl continued down the pathway toward the castle with the prattling boy with sincere blue eyes in tow._

_Suddenly, Naruto turned serious, or at least as serious as a boisterous blonde could be, "Why did you want to know if I could play any instruments? Was it because of the violin you heard in town?"_

_Shocked, childish, emerald eyes turned toward the boy. Was he always that observant? "Yes," came the half stuttered answer. She was still in shock he had noticed her at all._

_"I saw how amazed you were at the violin. Unfortunately, I'm not very good with string instruments, so I can't play you a violin song but," there was a long silence and Sakura hung onto the word "but," because that one little word was an addition to the sentence that made the next statement an exception to the first part. Which could mean he knew a violinist she could listen to… "I can do the next best thing," he finished and formed a combination of hand-seals the girl was unfamiliar with._

_She was confused. What was he planning to do? Just then a cloud of smoke appeared in the boys waiting arms. As the smoke cleared, it became evident that there was an item in his hands. Sakura was astounded when she learned what the jutsu had done. It had brought a violin case. She had never seen anything like that, sure her mother had taught her a few jutsus, but they were mostly for communication and medical purposes. She wanted to learn that jutsu, especially if it brought her a violin._

_Naruto opened the case and in a show of gentleness, for it seemed even the careless boy understood the beauty of the instrument, he removed the striking, wooden violin from the case. The girl was flabbergasted, she was standing so close to an actual violin!_

_Naruto placed the violin into Sakura's hands. He smiled gently at her wonder-filled expression. In the same manner as his previous actions he said, "Go ahead and try it."_

_The girl slipped off her cloak's hood to reveal mid-back length, bubblegum pink hair and a prominent forehead. Reverently placing the delicate instrument on her shoulder the awe-struck girl plucked cautiously at the various strings. The strings produced a soft plink every time her finger caught a string and released it. Such a marvelous sound, but not the same one as the boy in town had made. Furrowing her brow, the young girl wondered if she could make that sound. It had been beautiful, exquisite even. Which just left her with a persistent question: could she produce that kind of sound?_

_The blonde boy silently handed over the bow. The girl took it eagerly, she wanted to know each and ever sound it made. She moved the bow along the strings slowly, delighted as she discovered each new sound. At first the bow strokes had made the tone of the violin sound uneven, but after a moment the girl became accustomed to the tension she needed to put on the four different strings to create the clearest sounds. The sound became fuller and smoother as she continued to play. The on-looking god was astounded that the green-eyed girl improved her sound that quickly. He was also curious about her very unusual pink hair, but decided he would ask when she wasn't so preoccupied. _

_Remembering herself, Sakura stopped fiddling around with the bow, a slightly morose expression on her face as she gave the violin back to her new friend. Naruto carefully put the wooden instrument back into the case and locked it tight. Picking up the case, he hoisted it into her arms and smiled brightly, "You should keep it Sakura-chan. You have the talent for it."_

_"But what will you do? Don't you need a violin to practice on?" Sakura cut in, thrilled he wanted to give her the instrument, but doubtful that he should give such a beautiful instrument to a friend he just met._

_"I'm not very good at string instruments, the strings break too easily!" the pinkette laughed at the boy's obvious good nature and boisterousness. He was back to his normal loud self. She accepted the gracious gift the adolescent god offered to her._

The girl's cherry lips upturned at the memory, that had been the best day of her life. She gained a best friend and a violin she still plays today as she stands on the platform made of rock, performing only for the forest to hear.

Sakura slowly eased out of the allegretto march, slowing the speed at which she moved her nimble fingers and passed the bow over the strings. The smile adorning the small figure's shadowed face melted as the melody took on a heartbreaking sound. There was a memory that accompanied this as well…

_Summer had two little well-dressed girls, with necklaces made from grass and flowers tucked precariously behind their ears, running and giggl-_

The verdant eyes snapped open briefly as she abruptly halted the memory, with an almost inconspicuous pause in the movement of the song. She didn't need to go on a trip down memory lane.

Fully concentrating on the music once again, the violinist lost herself in the ambience of the music. The gradual crescendos and the mournful decrescendos, the notes melding into phrases and twisting the musician's heart with a melancholy sensation so powerful she felt numb.

The forest was still, not a shadow or creature stirred, the wind dwindled to nothing and all of nature strained to listen, to hear, to feel, to be moved by the heartrending melody.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to review :)

HarmonyRose


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M- for safety  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, just this plot  
**Summary: **The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevalence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A word of thanks to Popping Fresh and Kinky-Nami-Lass for beta'ing and Lady Kaliska for suggesting the beginning of this plot.

**Suggested listening: Little Wonders- Rob Thomas**

_**Chapter Three: Music, Messages, and Unwanted Memories**_

Shikamaru sighed wearily. Simply thinking about all the work he was going to have to do to secure Lord Neji's estate from all females made him slouch even further on the centaur. There would be so much work to do. He'd have to personally escort all the currently housed females out, find them a suitable place to stay, inform the guards not to let any woman in unless specifically asked for, and lastly he'd have to put jutsus around the property for the less easily dissuaded females. It was just too troublesome. The lazy elf sighed again… perhaps he could assign another person to do the job? This might work, except that Shikamaru knew his lord wouldn't appreciate second-hand quality. He was going to have to do it himself. He sighed softly. What a drag.

The elf had known this meeting wasn't going to go well as soon as he had heard word of the summons. He'd had one of those gut-feelings, which elves were particularly prone to, indicating that something important was going to happen today. The elf was also fairly certain that the council meeting that had been held was the cause of his instinctual, dreadful knowledge. Strangely enough, even though the conference between the gods and their advisors had finished earlier in the evening and the sky's nightlights were glowing with silver light above the forest's canopy, the sensation of the premonition hadn't yet subsided.

The lazy elf wondered why the forest was exceptionally hushed this evening. Normally, there were the soft sounds of the wind weaving its way through the leaves, lonely wolves howling at the moon, and the hurried, scampering feet of animals…predators and prey alike. None of those noises were heard though, and it was starting to nag at Shikamaru's senses. The slouched man straightened his spine to sit at his full height and glanced over at his master. There was a guarded air around the noble as he glanced around the surrounding forest. It seemed that he was uneasy about the silence too.

The advisor peered down at the centaurs; they didn't seem to be alarmed. In fact, if Shikamaru didn't know better, he would have thought they were enjoying themselves. Their ears were twitching ever so slightly, and both their tails were swishing with more than their normal haphazard swatting. They usually swiped at the horseflies that hung around and annoyed them. Thinking over what the centaurs would know that he and his master wouldn't, the worried advisor couldn't come up with an answer. It wasn't as if the centaurs were even from this part of the forest, so they wouldn't be comfortable in this forest to begin with. The only sense centaurs had that was more enhanced than an elf's was hearing, so Shikamaru quickly came to the conclusion that they must be able to hear something that he couldn't yet.

Sighing in displeasure, the male informed his master of his thoughts, "There is probably something between 600 and 900 meters away emitting a sound, you should try using the Byakugan to see it."

Neji murmured softly, "Byakugan." Immediately, puffy veins appeared on the skin around his eyes, increasing the chakra and blood flow to the eyes, allowing him to see things much farther away with greater clarity. The colours shifted, and hues were now softer, muted like in an ethereal dream. The glow chakra emitted was brighter than normal, particularly when contrasted against the paleness of the surrounding materials.

Scanning the area from left to right, Neji's enhanced vision picked up a figure, made small by the distance, at the edge of his range. Squinting and straining his eyes all the harder, the noble male could make out a large horse, that surely only a man could ride, next to the figure. He also detected several tiny chakra signatures around the clearing that were standing stock still, the only muscles moving seemed to be their hearts and delicate twitches of their ears, in an effort to better hear the person who was in the field.

Lord Neji was rather puzzled at what he saw, what sound was the man making that the animals were struggling to hear so completely? Urging the centaur to sprint closer to the direction of the man with a quick command, the callous lord could make out a few more details with his superior eyes and he was beginning to be able to hear something. The noise was there, but it was indistinguishable as to what it was. With his vision sharpening as they moved closer, Neji was able to make out that the figure was cloaked in a thin summer cloak. Its right arm was moving quickly over something that looked like it might be a string instrument.

Detouring to get closer to the musician, the pair of men were able to begin to discern the melody of the piece. A fast, lively piece began to take shape, reminding both parties of happier times. Gazes turned inward as the two reminisced about times before the war when families were still mostly intact and a sense of peace pervaded their happy childhoods.

Stopping just under a hundred meters away from the musician, so as not to disturb him, the god and the elf listened to the music dramatically change. The tempo slowed and the notes slurred together creating a haunting melody. The volume dropped to piano and gradually swelled, the music reached forte with a sustained minor note, lending a sad eerie quality to the music.

It felt as if the violinist was lost in thought as well, because the music was painful to listen to, as if the musician had a woeful story to tell, one that made the violinist's heart bleed crimson sorrow. Each note caressed the silent listeners, frantically trying to weave their tragic tale and at the same time dragging the audience's unbidden memories to the surface and adding them to the woven tale.

Partway through the song, the travellers were engrossed and completely lost in the song, the melancholy harmony tugging at their hearts. Memories of betrayals, deaths, and injustices weighed heavily in the air, stifling all within hearing distance. It wasn't until an infinitesimal mistake, so small it was really nothing more than a slight pause and a tensing of the figure's body that both men felt the tiniest bit guilty. The violinist in the field seemed to be bearing its soul to the forest, and they were shamelessly listening to this figure's distress.

* * *

Nodding in agreement, the now thought-provoked travellers moved respectfully westward, toward the sole entrance to the Underworld, the woeful melody following them, till it was nothing but a memory still thoroughly tangled in their thoughts.

And odd as it was, as Shikamaru rode further away from the musician, he came to realize that the dread he felt in his stomach throughout the earlier part of the day had disappeared altogether…

Neji sighed heavily in frustration for the umpteenth time in the past two days. The constant interruptions from his guards were rapidly becoming annoying. It had been two days since he had banned women from his ornate estate, but at least once an hour a guard would come in telling him about some crazed women who was sure he wanted to see her. It hadn't helped that as the goddess of love, Ino had made an announcement all over their respected kingdoms that he was searching for a wife.

Speaking of the devil, he had a report that Ino had kept trying to get her conniving self into his estate, and was (luckily) caught each of the three times she had tried. He would have to do something to get her off his back, and killing or maiming her sounded especially pleasing right now. Thinking of all the ways he could _incapacitate _her was sating his anger… well not really, in reality it was just making the option look at the more pleasing.

He, however, was interrupted from his murderous thoughts when the cherry wood door burst open and two men walked through the doorway, with a large brown mutt trailing at the heals of one of the men. Growling slightly in annoyance at the two gods, Naruto and Kiba, who had walked unceremoniously into his office, without so much as knock to announce their unwanted presence, Neji addressed the two coolly, "What brings you here?"

"No time for your friends, Neji?" the blonde teasingly inquired leaning over the desk to stare at the overly-organized piles of paper on the wood stained desk, squinting his eyes at the tiny writing scribbled all over reports and paperwork.

Opal eyes narrowed and glared at his fellow lord in response.

Speaking up for the first time, Kiba addressed the glaring male in a slightly irritated tone; "Ino has been trying to get in here all day, however, certain guards keep denying her and Tenten's passage. You wouldn't happen to have something to do with that, would you?" He continued on, in his regular tone he used most often to convey messages, not bothering to wait for a response he knew he wouldn't get, "We've come in her stead, to tell you that you we have word that the Uchiha has moved forward into another city, so you have less time to find a spouse then originally thought. She also mentioned that if you fail to find one, she will find a way to intervene."

Fed up with the other god's warning, the irate man stood up to his full intimidating height. His shoulders were stiff, and with his hands clenched in restraint, he ordered the dog and his pet out.

Once the two dogs had left his office with their heads held up with of pride and their jaws clenched in anger refusing to act like they'd been cowed out of the office, Neji sighed trying to ease the tension from his shoulders. This was becoming stressful, but he would not marry for an heir. It was degrading and he didn't want a woman companion. They were too weak mentally and physically; there was no way he would tie himself down with one. They were conniving, catty creatures.

Naruto unsurprisingly broke the silence, "Ino is really adamant about getting you married. I'm not sure if it will help, but this time I will find a way to discipline Sasuke and bring him back" A pause ensued, as the sapphire eyes became glassy and unfocused remembering a time in the past where he had made a similar promise to a different person…

_Unshed tears glimmered in emerald eyes, silently begging for him to bring back their shared friend, a boy she deeply loved. The d__esolate, abandoned appearance in her gaze twisted at his heart. _

_Now fifteen years old, he understood that the pretty half human would never belong to __him. He was her best friend however, she would never be interested in him romantically. It was breaking his heart, but he'd bare it silently and never tell her. He'd never force her to choose; he'd break both of their hearts and loose her friendship._

_The sky seemed to match his emotions, as they rapidly darkened into a saddened grey. They seemed to be ready to burst at any given time. Hiding his heartache under the pretence of his normal demeanour, he dug his own grave and did what her glistening eyes, the ones he couldn't ever refuse, pleaded with him to do. He animatedly promised to bring Sasuke back for her, acting the hopeful fool he always was, for her…always for her._

_The sky broke, and fat, heavy raindrops plummeted from the heavens when emerald eyes finally released their pooling teardrops. Clothes sticking to her body and her long water-darkened rosette hair clinging to her face in long clumps of strung hair, she ran toward him._

_He stood still; she was just going to run past him in anguish, because even though she wordlessly pleaded with him, she didn't believe he could. He wasn't strong enough compared to her precious Sasuke and in her eyes he would always be second to him. _

_He stood shocked when she flew to him and wrapped her water-chilled arms just above his waist and buried her face into his shoulder. "Not you too. Don't leave me too," she whispered into his shoulder, her warm tears mixing with the rainwater on his already drenched shirt. She began to tremble lightly, whether from the cold or her emotions, he was uncertain. He loosened his body and moved his own arms around the fragile girl, his eyes softening with understanding, as she unrelentingly clung to him in lonely desperation._

_He bent his head do__wn and let his lips rest on her hair, murmuring gently to her, "I won't."_

_He found his heart twisting in agony while he stood there with her wrapped in his arms shielding her from the world and the rain. She would never be his to have, but he would forever protect her and deliver her safely to whom she belonged. He would be her protector, always standing in the background, ready to support her when the world crashed down on her._

_Even though by all rights he should have her, since he was the one who loved her and all her faults, she would always belong to another…_

Shaking his head and dispelling the depressing memory, Naruto grinned at the other male in the room, "You look stressed; you should just stop fighting everybody and get married."

"Not happening," came the weary response. Neji was tired of keeping all those women out, it was difficult and all of his guards were beginning to complain because they were working longer and harder shifts. He needed relief.

"You really must be tired, if you can't even work up any righteous anger at me," the blonde grinned amused at his friend's situation.

The troublemaking man's cerulean eyes lit up, "You know what you need?

"No, whatever it is Naruto, I don't want to know. If it's your suggestion, it'll be trouble," the long-haired brunette said curtly, trying to shut the man in front of him up. He turned back to his report; maybe he could get some work done while the other god chatted on obliviously?

"Oi Neji, listen! As I was saying, I just found a musician to play for me while I work. She's a human, but she plays harp like an angel, even though I think she must be sick, because every time I look at her she is bright red, like she has a fever and sometimes she faints. Anyway, it's relaxing. So maybe that's what you should do. Find a musician, maybe a pianist, I've heard there are some good male ones around, and make them play for you," the blabbering god finally finished. Neji sighed, and immediately dismissed the thought. What rubbish, a musician. What good was that going to do?

"Get out, Naruto. I have work to finish," The god of the Underworld said, fatigue and stress slipping unbidden into his tone.

Naruto frowned slightly, but complied with his friend's wishes and made his way quietly out the door. He had some memories he wanted to forget about.

Looking back toward his paperwork after his blonde friend had left his office, the male was all ready to settle down and start reading and filling out the work when there was two solid knocks on the door. Neji narrowed his pearly eyes at the polished door before grumbling to himself, "This had better be good."

Shikamaru opened the door and stepped into the simple, but elegant cream and burgundy room, looking just as worn out as his master was. Taking in Neji's appearance, Shikamaru frowned, there were traces of bags under his ivory eyes, tightness in his shoulders, and an almost slouched manner to his normally dignified sitting. He was stressed. Any casual observer wouldn't have noticed these, but because the advisor was with him everyday, he could see the subtle changes in the man.

"You are stressed, perhaps you should leave this work until tomorrow," Shikamaru addressed the Lord of the Underworld for the first time since stepping into the room.

"That's the second time someone has told me I was stressed today," came the tart reply, "But I'm not leaving more work for tomorrow."

"Who else told you?" Shikamaru didn't really care, but he figured he keep the conversation up, if only to distract the other man from his work for a longer period of time.

"Naruto," there was a pause, and then Neji continued on somewhat amused, "he said I needed a musician to relieve my stress."

"A musician?" The elf turned the thought over in his mind and decided it could be just what the god needed, "What kind of musician?"

The lord gave his advisor an incredulous look before answering, "A pianist."

"What about a violinist?" comprehension dawned on Neji's face as he understood why his advisor had led the conversation in this direction.

"Alright, send out three of my best men. On the small chance the man won't come willingly, they will have to find a way to bring him back without injury," the opal-eyed man skipped directly to the point and cut the conversation short.

Shikamaru turned and grasped the swirly patterned bronze doorknob before remembering his original reason for entering the study, "Ino was caught again, this time she was dangling over the side of the fortress wall. Apparently she gave the guards quite the view." With that the elf walked in his standard slouch out of the room, so his master could be alone. Back in the room, Neji growled fiercely for the second time that day, "Stupid woman."

* * *

Chapter three is done! So as you can see there will be some glorious Neji/Sakura coming up. Yay! As for the little Naruto/Sakura moment in this chapter- I'm sorry if you're displeased in any way by it, even though I'm not really a fan of it I think that moment in my story was needed. I will begin to unravel Sakura's past to you slowly and I'm setting up a basis through the memories. It's kind of funny, because even though I'm not a fan, I managed to make myself cry writing it.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend you listen to the music I suggested with the memory, it fits amazingly and if you happen not to like that one try Rain by Breaking Benjamin. They fit the memory amazingly well!

Thanks for reading, please Review.

-HarmonyRose


	4. Captured

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M- for safety  
**Disclaimer: **Um... If you thought I owned Naruto, I'm sorry to say you're kinda stupid. Can't you tell I've messed up the plot so bad it's barely recognizable? If not you should go back and carefully read the last three chapters again, if only to boost my reader traffic numbers.  
**Summary: **The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevalence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A word of thanks to Popping Fresh and Kinky-Nami-Lass for beta'ing and Lady Kaliska for suggesting the beginning of this plot.

**Suggested listening: Sooner or Later-Breaking Benjamin  
**

_**Chapter Four: Captured  
**_

Running through the canopy of trees with silent footfalls, three men kept their ears open for any sounds of violin music. Each of them was hoping that this odd task they had been allotted would be easier than they anticipated. However, it was beginning to feel like an impossible task.

Of course it had sounded easy to begin with; all they had to do was find some violinist from a clearing. That was, until they'd heard all the details. The details themselves were not a problem. No, it was the lack thereof. The trio of men had almost nothing to go by, just that their lord had seen a male violinist in one of the eastern clearings of the rather vast forest. The only identified features had been a dark-colored summer cloak and a large warhorse accompanying him.

Umino Iruka, leader of the group for this retrieval mission was deep in thought, though his senses were carefully tuned to the surrounding environment. He was trying to figure out the best course of action to take. So far, the best plan seemed to be to surprise the man and have a single one of them approach him and extend the request to the musician. Should he not accept the mission, then the other two elves would let their presence be known and intimidate the man into compliance. Three to one wasn't favorable odds no matter who you were. However, the brunette man with the horizontal scar on his nose hated to use such an underhanded method such as intimidation on another living creature that breathed the same air as he did. It seemed unjust to the elf, but this mission appeared to have a need for it and he would do what it took to succeed, "Izumo, Kotetsu if the violinist is in one of the clearings then you two will continue to keep your presence masked, unless he doesn't agree to come with us peacefully. I will extend the invitation. Don't unmask yourself at any point; I don't want to use intimidation until it becomes necessary."

Kotetsu nodded in assent to the order; he and Izumo would have the easy part of the job. It wasn't that this job was going to be difficult. No, what could some mere musician do to three elf ninjas? It seemed like this would just be a boring escort mission like the last one and the one before that, and the one before that one as well.

The third ninja scowled, but gave his agreement just as his friend and mission partner had. This mission wasn't going to be any fun. He wanted to play with the target for a bit before having to take him back to the Underworld. He wasn't sadistic or evil by any means; he just wanted to mix this mission up from his long stream of rather tedious missions. No--he wasn't brutal, just a little mischievous in nature.

Shortly after arriving around where the Lord Neji and Shikamaru had heard the man, the three elves heard the sound of horse hoof beats trotting easily through the forest. Long pointed ears twitched, their keen hearing picking up the noise from a few miles away. Straining their other senses to feel for the man's chakra system, they were sufficiently satisfied when they couldn't find a developed one. Looking at the assigned leader for this mission, they asked a silent question with only the look on their faces and the gleam of a predator in their eyes.

Iruka nodded. That was enough the three jumped off in the direction of the aforementioned sound and noiselessly followed the man they had been searching for. This mission was becoming easier and easier by the moment.

Now deep in the forest on her horse, the nymph Sakura was immersed in her thoughts, her emerald eyes, the only part you could see from under her cloak, were mournfully reminiscent. Today was the anniversary. Six years since he left and the memory still made her bitter, she had been just a weak girl and he had no time for her or their best friend Naruto. She had loved him and he had scorned her.

A bitter smile twitched at her lips, she had gained something from his departure that came to good use though…

A slow rumbling of thunder in the far off distance and sudden bursting of the clouds, raindrops splattering like tears on the forest floor, awakened Sakura from her dismal thoughts. Lowering her eyelids over embittered orbs, she tilted her cloth covered head to face the rain, enjoying the way the cold water ran over her cheeks and down her jaw as she wearily sighed out, "It always rains on this day."

She froze imperceptibly beneath her dripping black cloak; there were chakra signatures at the edge of her perception. They were faint, but it was highly likely they were ninja and masking their energy. The woman cursed her lack of attention on this particular night, she should have been more careful. It had been foolish that she hadn't completely masked her own chakra before setting off earlier that evening.

Focusing on the chakra, she could discern how many different people where there. It appeared that there were three, though it was difficult to tell, because they, unlike her had cloaked their chakra well. They didn't want to be noticed yet, and that suggested an underhanded motive.

It was entirely her fault that she would have to deal with these shinobi, should they decide to follow her. Which she wasn't yet sure that was their intention, they could be harmless ninja just passing through on their way to the next mission… but she doubted it, for one it was raining steadily and even now she could feel them keeping a measured distance away, trying to stay out of the range of vision, but close enough that she wouldn't be able to shake them if she tried to run.

Loosening her body once again in the saddle, ridding her limbs of the telltale signs of tension the cloaked woman kept moving toward her destination. For now, she would pretend not to have sensed them. It would be better if they underestimated her…

Reaching her chosen field minutes later, the emerald-eyed musician dismounted her large warhorse with the ease of an expert, violin case in hand. She was tying her reins to the slippery trunk of a nearby wet tree in the shadowy forest, when a single man, or rather elf, walked into her clearing. Finishing the complex knot, she turned to face a tall male ninja with non-descript dark eye and hair colors. His medium length hair was tied in a high pony tail at the back of his head and the expression painted on his face was almost dispassionate, except for the irritation toward the rain water that kept dripping into his eyes and drenching his hair and clothes. However, the only thing that truly stood out about him was a horizontal scar that suggested that he might have seen more in life than he let on with his mostly average appearance.

Straight-backed and as proud as he could manage the ninja addressed the shadowy figure formally, "Musician-san, sir, my master requires your musical skill in his estate for an indefinite amount of time."

Holding in her mirth at seriously being mistaken for a male, Sakura only  
decisively shook her head, wanting to continue the charade for just a bit longer.

"You'll be well provided for by Hyuuga-sama and it'll be more than worth  
your time…" Iruka added, not finished with his original statement.

Once again to the ninja's aggravation the apparently small male shook his head, signalling a negative response toward him. Like hell was she going to play her precious violin for the conceited Lord of the Underworld! Dismissing the elf by turning away from him, the half-nymph began walking through the rain to the large, natural rock platform she liked, allowing her to form hand signs hidden from the ninjas' view.

Motioning with his hand, Iruka summoned the rest of his platoon to surround the petite male. He really wished he didn't have to resort to such underhanded methods; however, the mute musician seemed to be giving him no other choice. Kotetsu landed with a wet splash in front of the violinist, simultaneously soaking her cloak and blocking her way to her natural stage. Izumo leapt and landed between the violinist and the powerful warhorse, effectively barring any escape.

"I will ask you one more time, will you freely come to the Underworld  
to play for Hyuuga-sama?" The scarred elf forcefully addressed the trapped  
instrumentalist's back.

Tilting her head up to face the serious ninja in front of her, the fabric of her hood shadowed her eyes and her nose, but the cynical twisting of her lips into a smirk was visible to all the shinobi who surrounded her. A whispered jutsu name escaped her lips slowly and calmly as the rain splattered over her visible face, completely out of place for the tense environment. There was no warning to the shinobi who surrounded the violinist as a massive scorching fireball, hindered only minutely by the rain drops, shot toward Kotetsu. He barely managed to avoid it with a well-timed replacement jutsu. Surprised but not upset by this development Kotetsu launched into his own set jutsu, but before he could get past the fourth seal the cloaked figure flickered into existence before him and sent him sprawling backward with a swipe of her leg at the back of his knees.

Catching the shocked ninja and whipping a kunai from inside her cloak, the viridian-eyed woman held it to the taller man's neck, secured his hands by taking his wrists in her one free hand, and put one foot between his feet, ready to trip him at a moments notice. Thank you Naruto for this hold, Sakura silently praised in her head. There was no way he was going to get out of this hold unless she let him go herself.

"Gentlemen, I think you owe me an apology and I want you to bring me to  
your Lord- I will not play for him, but perhaps a compromise will suffice?" The purely feminine voice that floated past the cloak's hood was laced with indignant anger.

Astonished at the change of situation and the obvious gender of the violinist, Kotetsu sputtered out an almost incoherent, "Wh-what?"

Shaking off the hood, Sakura revealed her features; furious bright viridian eyes, cerise hair, a straight nose, and a scowling mouth all of which screamed her femininity.

Widened eyes displayed themselves on the remaining two ninjas' faces…  
that had been unexpected.

"Well are you going to comply, or must I unnecessarily kill him..?" she pressed the blade tighter to the tanned throat of the man, the water droplets catching on the sharp rim and rolling to the tip to stream off the kunai, akin to blood cascading downward. Kotetsu stretched his neck trying to alleviate the pressure he felt, he was becoming frightened, for this young woman meant business.

Sakura sincerely hoped that the ninja would just decide to take her to the Underworld. She had no intention of killing this man, but her escape options were becoming limited and she would do what was necessary. Even if she ran, this would just become a game of cat and mouse, and she knew she would lose as she didn't have the stamina necessary to combat three ninjas. The knowledge she'd obtained of the fighting arts was learned from Naruto and her own secret experimentation. While she knew how to defend herself from unsuspecting enemies, Naruto's fighting style wasn't suited for someone like her. However, it was the only training she would likely ever receive as an aristocrat. It didn't help matters that she was also female who had trained guards to defend her. Naruto's style had everything to do with stamina not only because he was a lord, but it also helped to have an almost unlimited supply of chakra as well. So whereas chakra and stamina was not a problem for him, for her it was a different story altogether. Although she did have a significant amount of chakra due to her heritage, particularly compared to the elves in front of her, she didn't have nearly the amount of knowledge of jutsus or the strength to carry out the more advanced techniques that Naruto carried in his extensive repertoire of ninjutsu. Besides, the pink-haired girl wasn't going to kill any of them; they were her ticket into the Underworld.

Sakura's fingers tightened around the handle of the Kunai. Her brows drew together in righteous anger, displacing the water gathering on her forehead, making it trickle down her face all that much faster. She wanted to let have whoever decided that abducting people as they pleased was a good thing a piece of her mind at the very least. There was no way she could let something like this go. She was furious that this Hyuuga-sama thought that he could force people to do his bidding by bullying them. Just who did he think he was? She was a free woman (relatively speaking) and she was not about to be caged so some stupid man could hear her violin. It was no different than caging a bird to hear it sing. She was livid and it was becoming harder for her to hold the ninja in her arms and stop herself from stomping around the soaked field, throwing a tantrum and breaking everything in sight.

The bridge of her nose was red with anger. Still smoldering in her anger, the half nymph spoke in a low threatening tone, "Have you arrived at a decision gentlemen?"

The voice broke through their reverie and the ninjas began walking toward her slowly, thinking that she was just a spooked horse and that they could placate her with slow movements and calming words. "No harm is going to come to you."

She snorted, who did they think she was? She wasn't stupid and no amount of soothing words was going to help them capture her. They continued slowly toward her, but she merely laughed sardonically. Truly this was becoming pathetic. The ninjas froze at her cackle; they hadn't expected that type of reaction. Using their momentary  
distraction, the rosette haired woman brought her other hand upwards toward her  
hostage's neck and preformed a string of eight rapid hand seals.

At the last moment Sakura pushed her hostage away as she watched the genjutsu take hold of all three of them. The pancetta smirked in dark satisfaction. Genjutsu had always been her favorite type of jutsu, although it had helped that she was naturally superior at it. Turning in the direction of her horse, she began to walk towards the spirited beast. It was for the better as it would be wiser if she didn't take out her anger on the Lord of the Underworld despite the anger coursing through her veins like quicksilver, no matter how much she wanted to at the moment. It would probably be best if she found a nice private place to vent her anger and wear herself to exhaustion. Her lips furled into something that wasn't quite a smile or a smirk, it was more like a half snarl… She knew just the place too.  
Just as her light footsteps neared her horse, Sakura glanced to the side as a kunai whipped through the air just centimeters from her. Surprised that one of the ninjas had broken out of her horrifying genjutsu so quickly she spun on her heel, water spiraling off her cloak, to face the captain of the shinobi team. He had his hands on his knees and was slightly hunched over, his heavy panting for breath could be heard even over the steady drum of the rain, but his eyes fastened determinedly to hers.

Raising her hand up with the kunai level to her chest, the pink-haired women widened her stance and took an offensive position. Her eyes were gleaming; perhaps she'd get to work off some anger after all.

With a low growl in her throat Sakura launched herself at the male, the water in the puddles on the ground flew up and the sound of grating metal met the air as Iruka moved his own kunai to block the oncoming attack.

The rain picked up in intensity and it began to pour harder and faster, blurring the vision of the two opponents, plastering their clothes to their bodies, and cooling their bodies down which lent a blue undertone to their skin.

The adrenaline was high as a fury of kick and slashes were exchanged and blocked. Every move got progressively stronger, until it was a full taijutsu match, their speed and accuracy only hindered by the onslaught of rain. Kunai met kunai time and time again; heavy breathing was now heard from both sides. Each blow was met by a counter attack. By this time Sakura was looking to make a retreat. She was still furious, but this wasn't the ideal condition to fight anybody. Darkness blanketed the forest, and every raindrop that had panged against her skin was colder than the last. The air was freezing due to the rain, and she could even make out her breath. If she didn't get out of the harsh weather soon, she would likely get sick. The sharp edge of her anger had cooled, and her instincts were telling her to run, before she got too wrapped up in this situation.

A gust of wind threw the rain at her faster and obscured her vision almost completely, Iruka took his chance and went to strike her, but Sakura also saw this as an opportune moment and made a move to hit him. At the last second they both caught the other's punch and try as they may to overpower each other by placing their weight into the move, they couldn't, because the ground was all mud, both sets of feet were slipping backward in the mud, not gaining any traction or leverage over the other. Locking narrowed eyes, they had both let go and jumped back a few feet.

The wheezing from both sides was audible. The rain had thoroughly soaked the ninja and nymph to the core. Her vibrant pink hair was now a deep magenta plastered to her forehead, chin, and cheeks. Her lips were beginning to tinge a frosty blue and she was beginning to become drowsy, but there was no way she could fall asleep anytime soon. No, the adrenaline coursing through her veins would keep her awake and alert until the battle was truly over.

They were at a stalemate and neither of them could continue to fight and expect to win, the weather was too bad and they were evenly matched as long as they were out in the elements.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Iruka sighed half in defeat. Just why was he fighting a woman? His mission was to bring back the male violinist from the forest, and of course since said violinist didn't even exist that meant he had already failed his mission and now he was wasting time battling some odd nymph woman. He grinded his teeth subconsciously, he detested having to admit failure however this one wasn't his fault as some god had forgotten to undeniably confirm the musicians gender. The brunette cursed, he wasn't going to fail this mission, he had a long string of successfully completed missions and he wasn't about to break that pattern. He'd just have to bring back this musician, female or not. Bringing back something was better than bringing back nothing.

Relaxing his shoulders and facial expression, the shinobi started diplomatically, "You want a little revenge on my master and I really want to complete this mission, and since all this mission entailed was bringing you to the Underworld, I'm going to… compromise a little," he paused momentarily for emphasis, "As long as you agree not to do anything too drastic, I will take you to the Underworld and complete my mission." He waited with baited breath for the woman to come to a decision. If she agreed then, this would be a good bit of revenge on his part as well; his Lord had caused him a lot of grief by not discerning this woman's gender. Technically, no woman was allowed onto Neji-sama's estate, but this was his own fault, he wanted this musician and he would get what he asked for… whether he liked it or not.

Sakura's anger sparked again, just who exactly did these people think she was? Did they think that she was some common human? She looked at the man shrewdly trying to discern his intentions, and found them honest enough. She supposed that there was no such thing as a truly honest ninja. The anger was evident in her narrowed eyes and the harsh tone of her voice matched the icy chill from the rain as she replied with one word,

"Alright."

That one word had sealed her fate.

Sakura shivered, her clothes were still thoroughly drenched even though the rain had stopped. She had sent her horse back to the estate with a note attached, just saying she would be back in a few hours and not to come looking for her. She was running along side all three of the other ninja in the tree tops, which was more difficult this evening since it took more control and attention to stay on the slippery branches than normal, besides it had been quite sometime since she had even attempted to walk on a tree, so she was a little bit rusty at it, although it was hard to truly ever forget it. Her anger kept her going even though she was exhausted, she couldn't wait to teach that jerk a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Although something was nagging at her conscience, she had heard and been told by the trees of the surrounding forest that the one ninja's heart beat speed up to a dangerous level in fear of her when she had threatened his life. It was distracting her and not allowing her to focus fully. She supposed she was sorry she had frightened him so bad. However, even after acknowledging the sentiment, it wouldn't leave her alone. Sighing inaudibly, she knew what she would have to do.

Had Sakura not been absorbed in her thoughts she would have noticed the wary sidelong glances the two ninja were directing at her and their captain. They were probably wondering just what had happened when they were under that genjutsu and what kind of woman this was not to have immediately wanted to meet their master. Perhaps she didn't know who he was? That was impossible, every one knew who Hyuuga Neji was especially if said person was a female. He was widely known as the Lord of the Underworld and a rake among the women.

Sighing gently to himself, Kotetsu wondered exactly why all women were attracted to his master, even this unique woman in front of him who hadn't swooned at his master's name would most likely be charmed instantly once she came within close proximity of him. He sensed this was going to end badly.

Kotetsu's (she had learned his and the other ninja's name when she had broken them from her genjutsu) sigh had broken her out of her reverie; he was obviously exasperated with something. Slowing a bit to get into sync with him, she unabashedly looked him in the eye and apologized to him for threatening his life earlier.

The shinobi had almost lost his footing. She had apologized to him? She really had to have been the strangest female he ever met. Plus most woman, noble or not were scared to look into the eyes of a ninja, most of them were too scared. His widened eyes softened at the sincere but firm look in her eyes and he accepted her apology. The ninja shook his head after she had sped back up and into position. This woman really was something else. Perhaps he was glad he'd taken such a different mission, it had been most interesting so far.

Sakura, feeling better now that she had apologized, could concentrate solely on getting to the Underworld and she was pleased to see that they were entering the land surrounding the River of Styx.

She had never seen this River, but had heard countless stories about it. The trees had once told her that only the foolish trees grew near the River, for even the tree spirits were afraid of getting to close to death. This was foolish as spirits of the trees were almost immortal. As long as someone didn't cut down the tree their spirit dwelled in, which wouldn't happen, not in her forest, they wouldn't die. Although why they thought they would go to the Underworld themselves she had no idea since, they had already cheated death once by becoming spirits. Besides death wasn't really what they thought it was like, this she knew they wouldn't know since none of them were former elves or aristocrats, all of them whom had well guarded secrets of their own about Hades. Either way she was their protector and she would very well send someone directly to Hades if they so much as attempted to cut down one tree without permission. Of course all the speculation about foolish trees was done all through tree gossip, which tended to be highly inaccurate as the trees could only travel so far to communicate with each other.

However she had heard from other, more reliable, sources that trees did not in fact grow along the banks of that river and as a result the bank of it was disgustingly muddy. Now since they were approaching the edge of the forest she could say that it was indeed quite disgusting, however she alighted gently onto the mucky ground so she wouldn't splatter mud anywhere, unlike the elves who weren't quite as concerned about getting soiled with mud stains, as she was when they jumped down from the trees. Glaring at the shinobi's back that had splattered her cloak with mud, they walked toward an old wooden boat that the Sakura's sharp viridian eyes doubted would safely hold the four of them across the wide slow river.

Once close enough to the boat, she could feel the chakra that held the boat together and kept the water from leaking in the many gaping holes. The cloaked woman was surprised, even though she'd heard the boatman was barely more than a decrepit skeleton, she hadn't quite believed it. She wasn't sure what she had thought but, it hadn't been that.

Climbing into the boat with the others she surveyed the wide murky river, the water looked like cheap alcohol; a deep molasses in color and just as unclear. In the moonlight emerald eyes could just make out the outline of the gates she was seeking on the other bank. Even though Sakura was districted by her purpose she noticed that as she neared the entrance to the Underground the moonlight waned to nonexistence.

This was curious to Sakura because she could see the outline of the gates which meant there was light, but she wondered where it was coming from. Then she noticed it, there were lamps behind the closed gates and the entrance seemed to lead underground.

Disembarking from the boat the nymph walked up to the gate and moved her left hand over the framework, she would have used her right hand, but it was carrying her violin case. It had some sort of twisting design on it, but because it was dark she couldn't make out what it was, but the metal was cool against her fingertips and if she had to guess the metal she would say that it was either nickel or silver, because it was a lighter grey and strangely not as dark as she would have imagined.

Sakura impatiently waited for the shinobi to open the gate to let them through. She was pleasantly surprised that as soon as the ninja came up to meet her in front of the gates, another shinobi appeared seemingly out of nowhere and searching the group, he recognized the ninja and without even asking or really looking at the stranger let them through.

Iruka nodded at the guardsman and proceed to walk toward a large castle with a massive stone-based wall around it. They had to travel down hill for a while before they hit even land. It was still some ways off, so Sakura contented herself with the scenery. Artificial lighting lit the landscape and it was even eerier than the forest in the late evening. Truly what she saw wasn't what she was supposed to, this was the Elysian Fields, but to the wood nymph it sincerely looked more like Tartarus, the field was dying, withering slowly and torturously. It was supposed to be green and healthy and beautiful, but it was none of those things. It was dead like all the heroes it was said to encompass. Speaking of all the heroes that were supposed to be in this field, where were they anyway? Malachite eyes scanned as far as she could see, but the land was much larger than any area she could see, even if she hadn't been using the depressingly dim torchlight's to see. This was disgusting! Neji-whatever his name was, wasn't even taking care of his own land! Her anger built up into a fully stoked inferno as she trudged along with the other ninja, it was a good thing for Sakura because the adrenaline masked her fatigue.

By the time the pinkette was fuming mad, the leader was a little wary of her, but they had already reached the estate's gates. Iruka signalled the guard at this station and they were promptly let in and informed that Hyuga-sama was in his office still. Iruka let the other two shinobi go and began to escort the Lord's guest to him. It was lucky that the nymph was so irate that she didn't notice the ornate estate otherwise it would be easy for her to misinterpret.

Reaching the door ahead of "the guest", the brunette struggled to get the smirk off his face. Finally succeeding he rapped on the door with two sharp knocks. This was going to be entertaining…

A firm voice answered the sounds, "Come in."

Iruka walked into the room and held the door open for the lady, who glided into the room, and if one couldn't feel the high tension from her, they might be tempted to think she was perfectly calm.

Neji, not being near enough to feel her cackling energy yet, stepped out from behind his desk and moved to greet the cloaked violinist. He was naturally a little wary of this plan, but hoped that this musician could help him to relax at least somewhat.

The musician put down the case and coolly met him halfway, upon reaching him and his outstretched hand, the violinist did the only reasonable thing she could; she clenched her fist and sent it into his face. Hard.

The god stumbled backward a step from the force and went to move in to attack, when the instrumentalist took off the hood of her cloak. He froze. What was a woman doing in his estate?

He immediately addressed the captain he sent out to retrieve the violinist in cold fury, "Is this a joke? Why is there a woman in my house?"

Iruka, who was struggling not to laugh before, started to answer seriously, "I…"

However, before he could get two words out the woman growled lowly, "If you have something to say to me, address me. I'm not a second-class citizen because of my gender; so stop acting like I am. You wanted the violinist from the forest and now you have her. But, there is no way I will ever play for you." By this time the woman was starting to sway on her feet now that the adrenaline had mostly worn off. She was shivering lightly under her cloak; her clothes were still pretty wet. She was light headed and she felt so exhausted from the previous day and that fight that had taken so much energy. The woman was thoroughly drained and black spots were beginning to blot out her vision. She just needed to sit down…

The pearl-eyed lord was stunned and merely stood inactive for a moment before coming to his senses and advancing predator-like toward her. Who was she to tell him off? When he reached her all he got was an armful of damp fabric and a pink-haired, passed-out woman that had plunged into his arms.

Bewildered opal orbs made their way to the older ninja's eyes. It was just too much for Iruka to take and he promptly burst out laughing. He couldn't wait until he told Naruto…

* * *

Look at all that length! I'm so excited that I put out a chapter that was over 5,000 words. School has been very busy so i'm not sure when I'll post another chapter, but hopefully soon. I have one question for you all. Does anyone listen to the suggested music during the chapter? Let me know what you thought of the chapter. Did you like it? What could be better? What about my characterizations? Is it predictable?

Thanks for reading!

-HarmonyRose-


	5. The Beginning of Espionage

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **T  
**Disclaimer: **Does anyone actually read these anyways? Anyways, if you haven't gotten the message yet, I really don't own Naruto I just like torturing the characters. I recommend you all try it. It's great fun.  
**Summary: **The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevalence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A word of thanks to Popping Fresh and Kinky-Nami-Lass for beta'ing and Lady Kaliska for suggesting the beginning of this plot.

**Suggested listening: Drops of Jupiter- Train  
**

_**Chapter Four: The Beginning of Espionage  
**_

Slowly Sakura drifted from the slow river of unconsciousness onto the banks of exhausted sleep, where thoughts and little memories glinted in and out of existence, till one memory took shape. It began in the end and continued on far past reality…

_Blood. There was a man's blood on her. Splattered on her clothes, in her hair, on her face, and worst of all on her hands. A place which she could clearly see the crimson, fluid of life. Palms up she brought her hands toward her face and as she stared at them they began to tremble and pretty soon her whole body was shaking with shock and fear. Her eyes were dilated, wide, and unblinking; her heart beat rapidly, racing fast like a gazelle running from a lion chasing after it. _

_The fear was overwhelming and as she continued to stare at the scarlet that contrasted with her tiny, creamy-white hands a voice broke in, "Little girl, it's your turn now. Come on now, don't you want to please me? I might let you go if you do." The sneer on his face was repulsive and degrading, dirty even. There was a disgusting eagerness on his face, to kill, to hurt, to terrorize, and to see other souls suffering. It was lying but the small girl was in no condition to listen. She was in shock, what had she done to deserve this and her sweet friend was dragged into this…whose fault was this? Was it hers?  
_

_Her friend that was kidnapped with her was trembling so bad she was audibly making sounds and the whimpering was like that of a kicked puppy… pitiful, lonely, and terrified. Her slumped body was just behind her, watching the same sickening acts. The man began to approach the girls, moving agonizingly slow to prolong their suffering. Did this man even have a heart? Sakura was so frightened she couldn't speak or call out for help. Her mouth formed the shape of the words but no sound came out. Her silent pleas for help were just that, silent. Unheard. It was her fault—she shouldn't have gone out in the open field and she shouldn't have dragged her comrade with her. She had broken the rules of her parents and she regretted it terribly now. This was all her fault, and she was to blame. In the hallway, a window broke as a man dressed in black with a white mask shattered it. In a fluid movement he knocked and released an arrow that flew straight at the other man. Before the man had time to move, the arrow had pierced deep into his heart, proving that such a thing existed in him. The blood spilled onto Sakura and she vomited, physically sickened by the smell, the fear, and the blood. There was more on her hands—another physical reminder that this was her fault. And she screamed._

She screamed and rapidly bolted up from her lying position. A moment of terror overcame her when she didn't recognize her location, but she soon remembered the desk and the ornate room as one from the Underworld. The pink-haired woman's chest visibly heaved up and down as she panted to catch her breath. Sea foam eyes were glazed and out of focus, staring blankly ahead. She sat up on the floor, trying to orientate herself. Wait a minute… that bastard hadn't even bothered to set her on a bed. He had just left her crumpled on the floor of his office! The traumatized woman focused on her anger, because it was much easier than focusing on her pain. It was really all her fault… Getting up from the floor was a difficult task as she was still a little groggy and weak-kneed. Her vision blacked out for a moment, but when she reached her full height, her resolve hardened, she was over the worst. Now she just had to find that arrogant lord and ask him if his mother had taught him any manners whatsoever… she doubted it. She took a slow, shaky step toward the door and stumbled a little before catching herself on the wall.

Gradually, using the wall as her support, she made her way into the hallway. She looked up and down the expansive corridor and cursed herself for not paying more attention to the layout of the building in the first place. Deciding to try her luck she turned left but before she got anywhere she shivered violently, reminding her that her damp clothing was still rubbing against her skin. She had been so focused she had nearly forgotten. Without hesitating, the emerald-eyed woman set down her violin case and with her now free hand untied the cloak and left it on the corner of a wooden bookcase right inside the door, she then proceeded down the wide hall violin in hand.

* * *

White-hot fury raced through Neji Hyuga as he headed for the kitchens with Iruka following not far behind him. Naturally he could just find a healer to fix the bruise that was rapidly starting to form on his face, but he figured he would heal the natural way; there was no need for a healer to heal such a minor abrasion. All he had wanted was a violinist, but now he had an angry, passed-out woman in his office, a painful bruise, and more than enough trouble with Sasuke Uchiha. These last few days had been some of the most irksome he had experienced and he didn't need anymore to deal with. In the kitchen the young lord called out to the staff to get him an ice pack, before turning his icy cold gaze toward the ninja, "Explain to me why there is a woman in my estate."

"Well," Iruka began, "I haven't failed a mission in a long time and I had no intention of doing so. Besides, she really isn't your type of woman, so you needn't worry about her. Just send her on her way or charm her into playing for you," Iruka shrugged indifferently this wasn't his problem anymore he got the girl to his master and that's all that had been required of him and besides, it was worth it just to see the shock on his master's normally composed face twice within the span or only a minute or two. A secret smile formed on his lips as he thought about it. The chocolate-haired male nearly growled when he saw the unconscious mocking smile.

As he was about to dismiss the ninja, a figure peered into the kitchen, the very same one that had caused him so many problems. All he could see was her very pink hair and light green eyes from her position in the doorway. He briefly wondered to himself what race she was or if she was possibly a mix between something. She had such an odd colouring. Before he had to time to contemplate this she moved into the room, her eyes growing livid once more as she caught sight of the Master of the house. Neji Hyuga had calmed down at this point and was now thinking rationally, this woman could be just like any of the staff, she needn't be special and truth be told he really did need to relax. He would just try to reason with this girl and see if that would work or he'd use his influence, but he didn't doubt that this girl was just some common street girl that had a talent for violin. There were tons of those, last time he had been topside he'd seen a number that were quite good, but not as good as she was. He let his pallid eyes run over her from the crown of her head to the tips of her shoes and was surprised to find that she wasn't in women's clothes at all. In fact it seemed that underneath that long, dark cloak she had been wearing loose beige pants and an unflattering moss green top. Even though she was wearing baggy clothing the god could tell that the girl in front of him was just a sprite of a woman. She was thin, lithe, and very possibly athletic, something he'd seen in few women. It was unusual for a woman to wear loose clothes like that; in fact he didn't think he'd ever seen a woman dressed that way. They always wore those long draping dresses that were tedious to put on and take off.

Neji wondered why such a person would refuse to merely play their instrument when it would be very beneficial to them to do so. They would get shelter, good food, and her responsibilities would be very light. It was a good deal, so why in the world wouldn't she accept? "Miss, why won't you accept and just play in exchange for all the comforts I'll provide you?" The brunette Lord's deep timbre washed over Sakura and reminded her of the lowest of tones on the violin, majestic and soothing.

It was then that Sakura realized that Lord Neji had no idea who she was. Sakura stared at the male with a wide-eyed look of disbelief, "You decided to kidnap me without having any idea who I was?" The male merely nodded in affirmation, beginning to severely doubt the wisdom of this plan as it had caused him nothing but trouble so far. The nymph straightened to her full height, not particularly an impressive height but somehow she had a more regal look to the slope of her shoulders, her prideful chin and the unwavering steel in her sea-foam eyes.

Stiffly she said, "I am the daughter of Lord and Lady Haruno, my name is Haruno Sakura." Neji let out an expletive, if this girl was really the Haruno's daughter he was going to have to send over a mediator in the morning and assure them that he would send their child to them as soon as it was appropriate to do so, because three o'clock in the morning was not a good time to send a "guest" out on a four hour journey back home. Despite common speculation, he knew how to be polite, just most of the time he chose not to use said manners. This whole thing was turning into a giant headache. Sakura, still furious at the lord, chose at that moment to speak her mind, "You really are an idiot."

The Lord narrowed his gaze at her, it was no wonder he hadn't heard much about this woman, she was apparently ill mannered and he briefly entertained the thought that her parents locked her away and never spoke of her. However, he realized he probably would have heard whisperings about that, if that were the case. He promptly calmed down. He wasn't supposed be phased by these types of things and he was confused on why he was reacting so emotionally toward this scrap of a woman. Perhaps it was due to the high levels of stress he was under, he thought reasonably as it was a very probable answer. Since he was now calmed down and feeling in control again he began stoically, "I will send you back to your home tomorrow after…"

A messenger ran into the room, panting and out of breath, "Master," he grasped in an unsteady voice, "the Eastern most kingdom… attacked… few survivors…" His voice became more even, "And the prominent Lord and Lady, the Haruno's are in critical condition, but their daughter is reported missing. There is no doubt that it was Sasuke Uchiha, although through the accounts it appears that he was searching for something and that he didn't find it."

Neji listened to the account and grew increasingly frustrated, how could the Uchiha slip through all of the spies with such a group of people that could paralyze the Eastern province? With a steely voice he ordered the messenger to bring Shikamaru to his office. Sakura on the other hand was shocked as she listened to the messenger recount the state of the province her family was in charge of as well as the physical condition of her parents. Her emerald eyes were wide and the black pupils were dilated. Her face was pale, and the color from her cheeks was drained. Most surprising of all was the state the nymph's mind was in. Her normally quick, rational mind seemed to be turned off and outside noise faded away, sure it was still there, but it sounded muted and didn't register with her. Her thoughts churned slowly and painfully through her head. The violinist wasn't stupid enough to believe that her long ago obsession was there to find her. No, whatever his motive was, she was sure that it was more sinister than that. And once again he had betrayed her. The rosette thoughtlessly followed the lord to his office without the sound of footsteps or words.

She was still in a state of shock and wasn't completely able to think through her actions in a logical manner. After the woman followed Neji into the office he tossed her an irritated look, just why was she following him? Then he saw the paleness of her face and realized she was acting subconsciously and that the rational part of her brain was on hold. Not that he even really believed that females had a rational brain. He was certainly not looking forward to the hysterics that would come after she came out of her shock. Shikamaru strode hurriedly into the room, his clothes looking like he had haphazardly thrown them on, either that or that he couldn't be bothered to put them on correctly. The latter was more likely…

The Lord began as he ignored his unwelcome female guest, "Uchiha attacked the Eastern lands, and the reports said he was looking for something. I cannot think of anything, perhaps you know of anything that is of importance in that area Shikamaru?" Sakura chose at that moment to awaken from her stupor. She was angry and her chakra smouldered beneath her façade. She was furious at Uchiha Sasuke; it seemed to be his person goal to make her life miserable. Fuming malachite eyes bet her former love-interest had dealt the critical wounds on her parents and with a more sombre mind, she wondered if her parents would still be alive when she got back to them. Why had he even gone into the Eastern Province? What could he have been searching for, Sakura asked herself.

"Perhaps, it is unwise to speak of these matters in front of your guest?" Shikamaru prompted his Master, curious to know why he would let a female in his midst, particularly while they were discussing important issues. Wasn't it law that he was not supposed to have any women in the castle? Besides, with all the protective spells she would have had to have walked right through the front gates, just who was she, wondered Shikamaru.

The God of the Underworld sighed out with frustration and anger coloring his voice, "That is the violinist I sent a team out for, however she also happens to be the daughter of the Haruno's, therefore she can be allowed to stay while we discuss her family and lands, since we are the ones that pulled her from her homeland right before a crisis. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't question my judgement."

Neji's jaw was tight with anger; he didn't want the woman in his study. The last thing he needed to deal with was feminine hysterics, but she had a right to know and since he was an honorable lord, he would allow it, no matter how reluctant he was to do so. Surprising the two males Sakura spoke with a hardened edge, "What's to be done about Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Nothing, if we only have peasants testifying against him, it will not be credible enough and we haven't yet been able to get a spy into the Uchiha's camp without them coming off suspicious and being beheaded so we don't have any physical proof. There is nothing we can do except to try to get someone else in there to get hard evidence," Shikamaru explained patiently though the lines in his forehead betrayed that he was frustrated.

"Although I disagree with the sentiment that regular townsfolk couldn't convict a noble, it wouldn't work with Sasuke anyway. He used to live on the outside of the Eastern State and his family is remembered kindly among the people. They would not testify against him," the woman said calmly, she would not allow the tension and anger that was churning through her system to leak out into her voice. These men already seemed prejudiced toward women in general and she would never give them the satisfaction of labelling her as weak. No other man would ever be able to call her that again, not if she could help it. Crying was for the weak, and uncontrollable anger was for fools.

"You said he used to live outside the province, how much of the inter-workings of the castle would he know?" Shikamaru turned his attention to the pink-haired woman.

Sakura's mouth thinned, "As much as I know as the child of the Haruno's."

"Answer me this woman…" began the Lord of the Underworld.

"My name is Sakura, not woman," she interrupted smoothly; she was a proud person not some generic object, but her irritation would not escape her.

He began again though his voice held the same tone the narrowing of his eyes gave his impatience away, "Answer me this Sakura, why would Uchiha Sasuke know as much about the workings of the Haruno manor as you, a Haruno, would?"

She really didn't want to tell a perfect stranger about her life, but the roseate woman could see she had no choice. She closed her eyes in remembrance, "Sasuke and I were childhood friends and before he had left Konoha, it was the wish of our parents that we be married." Emerald eyes opened to reveal resolution deeply set within, "He has betrayed me many times and this time is the last time. What is Sasuke's ultimate goal?" The question threw the advisor off; meanwhile Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he answered, "It is the belief of the council of gods that Uchiha Sasuke wants the Underworld as his own."

Sakura eyed the god up, measuring his worth against her ex-friend and nodding her head in a downward motion once. "It seems I will have to become reacquainted with Sasuke-kun," she practically squealed his name in a sarcastic, high pitch simpering tone.

"I suppose that would make the most sense if you already know him," mused the elfin advisor.

"I won't have some crazy, weak woman as my spy," Neji's frozen voice interrupted. The musician froze. He'd said that word. That one word. Weak.

"_I can't believe how weak you still are Sakura. Your part nymph and you still can't even manage a simple healing spell. You should just give up, you will always be weak," sneered a raven-haired teen. Sea-foam eyes clouded over with a film of tears. She believed him. It was tearing her up and she could feel any self-confidence she had left drain out of her. "Great, and now you're going to cry. What use are you anyway?" he sneered. Here came the relentless taunting. _

Anger, like quicksilver, rushed through Sakura veins. She clenched her free fist and with her voice tight she answered, "That is exactly why you should send me, I am a female and therefore harmless in most of the population's eyes. Plus he still thinks I'm the same person I was 6 years ago."

"You still won't be able to defend yourself should you get into trouble," the Lord leaned back in his desk chair as he condescendingly delivered his remark.

Sakura loosened her tight shoulders and smirked, "I'm not as weak as you think I am. Why do you think I was conscious when I arrived, even though I did not want to play for you? I trapped two of your ninja and fought the leader blow for blow. We only stopped due to the rain."

Neji sat up in his chair slowly and rested his chin in his hands, "I see, but it will be dangerous."

"I'm up to it, but you could always provide me with a little more training before I go…" she wasn't going to pass up the chance to learn more.

Neji nodded, considering the idea, "I'm still not comfortable with the idea."

Sakura sighed in exasperation, "How about I play my violin for you until I leave?"

"Deal."

* * *

A/N Alrighty chapter five is done! I'm sorry this has taken so long to get out but, school has been very demanding. I did change the rating, I really didn't think there was or would be anything worthy of M in here.

I hope you enjoyed! Please review :)

HarmonyRose


	6. Minor Disagreements

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **T  
**Disclaimer: **Sadly I don't own Naruto.  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A special thanks to my betas Popping Fresh and Kinky-Nami-Lass for putting up with my terrible grammar. Also, a thanks to Lady Kaliska for suggesting this little plot bunny and putting up with me while I figure everything.

**Chapter six: Minor Disagreements**

Sakura awoke with protesting muscles and a racing mind. It felt as if she hadn't even slept at all. Her stomach was nauseous, she felt terrible, and was unable to sleep because of the anxiety. She should have been at home to help her mother and father when Sasuke had attacked. She should have been there to do something, anything at all. Instead, she had gone off and gotten herself worked up enough to rashly go to a place far from her family. The heavy pit of guilt weighed in her stomach and on her mind; she felt that if she had just been there she would have been able to diffuse the situation, or at the very least defend her parents.

Why was she never there when her important people needed her? Her guilt told her it was always her fault. No matter what she did it always ended badly. Her mind wouldn't allow her body to recuperate. She hadn't gotten to sleep till just and hour or two before what sunrise would be on the top soil and it was only just after eight o'clock. Sluggishly getting to her feet, Sakura nearly toppled over from the wave of darkness and dizziness that threatened to bring her to her knees. Stabilizing herself while she waited for her head rush to pass, Sakura closed her dazed-looking sea foam eyes tightly.

Opening her clenched eyes one at a time, her gaze shifted around the room for a spare set of clothing, that she vaguely remembered Hyuga-san saying he would provide for her, in her exhausted trek to a guest bedroom. Then she spotted _it. _That _it _happened to be a very stylish _pink dress. _She growled her displeasure in a low, throaty, morning tone. That was not what she wanted to see. Sure she expected a dress—after all she was a woman, and therefore it was only proper that she be provided with one. She didn't like them, but she would have been fine with one of a simple and plain design. However, some idiot saw the need for it to be lavish, with a long trailing skirt, a thin waistline with a simple satin sash, and an ordinate bodice decorated heavily with pastel pink ribbon. Pink was a color she disliked to wear, frankly it was too girly for Sakura and she much preferred the color red. Also, the pastel pink people seemed to adore trying to dress her up in became stained rather quickly. Maybe it was with the grey-brown dirt so often found in the forest surrounding her home that was kicked up from her riding, or crimson blood from her occasional training sessions with Naruto, which regrettably where becoming fewer and farther in between than either she or her blond friend would have liked.

Sakura contemplated just wearing her light saffron nightgown (also provided for her courtesy of Hyuuga-san) instead of the frilly dress she thought was a waste of time. However, Sakura's pride won out, she didn't want to be seen as childish, and so she stripped herself of the simple yellow nightgown. She scrunched up her face into a grimace as she took the beautiful garment off the hanger. Making sure all her bindings were in place and intact, she untied the satin sash and sighed emphatically as viridian eyes disappeared from view when the pink creation was slipped over her head.

The half-nymph looked at her reflection in the looking glass. This would have been just the type of dress in which her mother would have adored to don her only child in. Sakura banished the thought of her mother and father; those would only serve as distractions right now. She needed to focus on that egotistical jerk and training, so that she could do more to help in the future. Determined, she blinked away the thoughts and set about trying to reach around to tie the sash, unfortunately with the bodice so tight and the drooping sleeves she couldn't get a fixed grip on the slippery satin. Trying repeatedly, she began to become frustrated and glared at the vision in the mirror. The musician would most definitely be having a chat with the Lord of this house about this dress. Giving up, Sakura left the soft pink ribbon untied and turned to head out of the dark, stained-wood door. Absently, she thought that the whole house could use a much lighter coat of stain and most certainly some lighter painted rooms. The entire house was depressingly dark and had a morbid funeral-like feel to it.

Shutting the door tightly behind her Sakura turned left toward the kitchen and dining room area, hoping to come across some delicious food. Walking down a few long corridors with the creeping suspicion that she was going to get lost Sakura amazingly made her way to the dining area without incident. Of course she was hoping to find a servant first when she walked into the kitchen to help tie the sash that she still couldn't tie by herself. However, because Haruno Sakura happened to be fate's favorite chew toy, the only other living soul in the room was none other than Lord Hyuga Neji, who raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her less than polished appearance.

Sakura, who really didn't feel the need to be civil shot a dark glare at the man telling him, "There wasn't anyone to help and because of the style of the dress there is simply no way I could tie this stupid sash."

Amusement filtered into Neji's hard gaze as he stood from his seated position at the head of the table and smoothly walked over to the small woman. Said woman tensed slightly as he came to stand behind her, obviously uncomfortable with his presence. He was amused by her trepidation, this musician in front of him wasn't afraid to sass him but she was unsettled by his nearness. Neji in his amusement decided to play with the girl a bit, if only as retribution for the few times she had made a fool out of him already in their short time of acquaintance. The male delicately trailed his fingers along Sakura's waist as he grasped the two ends of the sash to begin tying them. He deftly tied it ever so tantalizingly slow. Sakura on her end held her breath at the soft contact, only barely restraining a reflexive shiver. Bending down to right above her ear he sensually breathed out, "This dress suits you very well, but I think you look better in those pants of yours."

Heat rushed to Sakura's face in anger and embarrassment and emerald eyes turned dark malachite; a little light teasing? She could take that, but full out indecency, forget it! "Mind your manners Hyuga-_sama_," the last part came out in a dangerous hiss as Sakura stomped painfully hard on his right foot.

Neji inhaled quickly as the sharp pain resounded through his extremity. The woman held a lot more strength in her feet than he would have guessed.

"Master, as your chief advisor, it is my humblest recommendation that you don't purposefully antagonize your _influential guests_," Shikamaru smirked slightly from his relaxed slouch against the gloomy doorframe, where he had watched the entire scene play out. Truthfully he had thought his friend had gotten what was coming to him and that this particular female was rather amusing to observe. Perhaps she would knock some sense into his Lord; he pondered the thought briefly before dismissing the vaguely foolish idea. Shikamaru bowed minutely to Sakura and diplomatically rectified the problem, "Sakura-san tomorrow a maid shall attend to you, please forgive our oversight."

Still red-faced, she flounced over to the table, sat erect in her chair and turned her gaze away from the two infuriating men, not bothering to give a reply. Shikamaru and Neji exchanged an amused look, before heading to the table to eat.

Turning serious again the Hyuga addressed his guest, "I contacted your parents last night, and it seems that the initial report that Lord and Lady Haruno were in critical condition was grossly exaggerated. They are fine. They were a little roughed up, but otherwise are in good condition."

Sakura visibly relaxed, glad they were alright and that she wouldn't have to worry about them while she was away. However just as the relief came a sudden thought popped into her head, with her parents in full capacity she was going to have come up with a good excuse to be gone for several weeks, if not months. She was twenty-one and could take care of herself but, she didn't want to worry her parents or have them send out a search for her, especially when she didn't want them to know exactly what she was doing.

Neji continued not noticing his guest's faraway look, "I sent a request offering to keep you as a guest here until the city settled down and things were in order; which should buy us some time to think up an excuse for later, while you're away." Neji thought it ironic that just the other day he had banished women altogether from his presence and now he'd invited one of those awful creatures to stay for an extended amount of time.

Snapping out of her daze Sakura took a moment to process the information and then nodded that was acceptable. Taking a careful bite of her food Sakura categorized the risks of staying here without her mother's full knowledge of the situation. First off, her parents could completely misinterpret the situation and the gods above knew that both had been on her tail to settle down as she was now approaching her twenty-second year. But, as long as they didn't act in desperation by playing matchmaker she would be alright. Secondly, she could gain her freedom, but in a short time have to relinquish it; becoming once again a trapped bird. She did not count her nightly outings as freedom, because she always had to return to her cage afterward. Sakura believed freedom would be wonderful and as sorry as she would be to leave it, it would also be alright. She would rather have her freedom once then never at all. Her freedom would be relative and most of all transient.

Speaking up and breaking the silence Sakura spoke, "What will my schedule be while I am here?"

"I would like you to begin playing today after breakfast and training can begin tonight as that is when Iruka should be arriving from his latest mission," Neji answered immediately as he had planned everything in advance already.

Sakura furrowed her brow, he was severely underestimating her. "I do not think Iruka would be the best trainer for me," Sakura answered back quietly a small frown evident on her feminine face.

Neji didn't bother to reply in words instead he merely raised a chestnut brow.

Sakura sighed out a response, frustrated he didn't understand, "In order for me to truly make progress I need to be up against someone who I could not beat in a serious spar after a few weeks of training."

"You won't beat Iruka, you said yourself that it was only a tie because of the rain," Neji's smooth voice countered arrogantly, effectively cutting off any form of argument.

Sakura's eyes sparked green fire, but she would let it go for now and take this issue up later.

Shikamaru gave a lazy unnoticed grin from his side of the table; Neji really had no idea how to deal with this type of woman. She was the kind of woman who didn't care about riches, reputation, chipping a nail, or vain beauty at all, and Shikamaru could tell from the stiff posture of Sakura's shoulders and back that his friend and master, Neji, would be paying for his lack of knowledge later.

After breakfast Sakura dismissed herself, softly saying she would be retrieving her violin and would meet the lord of the Underworld in his study.

Walking back to her room Sakura let her anger ignite and flare in her mind. The arrogant prick hadn't even let her lay out her argument nor had he even seen her skills. He just wrote her off as below a genin level fighter with no intelligence or adaptability. Course he didn't know who she had trained with previously so it made sense. The musician grinned deviously; perhaps it was time to put some of her less used skills Naruto had taught her into action. Naruto wasn't too often sly as a fox, but when he was, it was truly something to behold, and he had passed that trait along to her.

Absent-mindedly making her way toward the study with violin in hand, Sakura watched her simple but, effective plan take shape in her head. Upon reaching the office space Sakura wiped all traces of her mischievousness from her face and knocked softly on the ornate door. A muted male voice floated through the oak door, "Come in."

Demurely, Sakura walked in and saw Hyuga-san sitting at the desk with piles of neat papers stacked all around the horizontal surface. He had put a sturdy backed chair in the corner of the room recently and she took that to be her spot. Moving toward the corner Sakura set her violin case down and unlatched it. Carefully, she removed the wooden instrument and tuned the A string first, tightening and plucking the string until it matched with the pitch in her head. She had heard the pitch often enough that she had it memorized. Her fingers moved to the next string and she continued tuning in the same manner to the remaining two strings. With delicate fingers she pulled her bow from the case, mindful of the dark horse hair that could easily break if she didn't handle it with caution. Picking up the violin from the chair, Sakura got up from her squat and sat with grace on the chair. Looking up to find silver eyes with hidden curiosity on her, Sakura cocked her head to the side and asked sedately, "What would you like to hear—something easy?"

Neji had watched her, mildly interested in the loving manner she had handled her violin and how in tune she seemed to be with her instrument. It appeared that maybe there was more to this woman than her fast temper and abrasive attitude. At her question, Neji merely nodded. Something light and easy would surely be appreciated; he hadn't slept last night. He had been busily taking care of arrangements for his guest and sending out his fastest horseman to the Haruno's Province to ascertain the situation and speak to the Lord and Lady if possible. Now he had a splitting headache and was hoping that some soft music would help soothe his pain.

Fighting to keep a grin from emerging on her face, Sakura played a simple rhythm. The first song she, and every other musician, learned to play. As the extremely simple melody of Hot Cross Buns floated through the room, an incredulous expression played out on Neji's face. Settling a scathing look on the musician he stopped her, asking in a dangerously low voice, "What is that?"

"It's Hot Cross Buns. It's the easiest song I know. You did say you wanted an easy song right?" she answered back calmly.

"That's not what I meant," he said with a hard edge to his tenor voice. Comprehension dawned on him and he asked with a heavy sigh, "What is this really about?"

"No training, no music. Until you get a proper trainer for me, I will not play anything but the simplest music. I am still keeping within the deal, so there isn't anything you can do about it," Sakura answered evenly.

"Fine, I will get you a hard trainer, I have an old acquaintance coming this afternoon and though he doesn't teach anymore I will see if he will cooperate," Neji spoke quietly and firmly. He was tired of battling this woman today, and he didn't have the energy to anymore. He hated losing—especially to some small woman—but he would make sure he won the next match. Later, with her training, Sakura Haruno would pay. This one trainer he was hoping to recruit was amazing but had some tendencies that Neji knew would grate on Sakura's nerves. Yes, enlisting Hatake Kakashi's help would be the perfect revenge.

Immediately following his statement, Sakura trusted that he would take care of his end of the deal and begin the violin part of Praeludium and Allegro. Though the song had a series of unresolved sixteenth note runs throughout its five-minute duration, it was composed in the soothing medium range and ended with a low string of quarter notes and a vibrato end tone.

As Sakura played, Neji could feel the tension seep out of his muscles. He closed his eyes while he wasn't working and leaned back in his chair, enjoying the sound that was calming his raging headache. He slowly drifted into unconsciousness, falling into one of the deepest and most relaxing sleeps that he had had since before the war that torn his family and kingdom apart. Sakura, lost in the motions of playing through her piece repeated the piece after she was finished the first time, not noticing that Neji had fallen asleep.

Finishing the piece a second time, Sakura glanced over at the male, only to realize he was fast asleep, leaning all the way back in his chair with his hair spread about him in messy but childlike disarray. Sakura smiled at the innocent vision he made sleeping and gently, but quickly put her violin away. She walked back to her room to leave her instrument there and to grab the extra pillow and blanket that had been left at the end of the bed last night in case she had needed another set.

* * *

A/N Okay I have a few things to say. First off so sorry it took so long to update. I didn't mean for that to happen, but I was working off very little inspiration. Which leads me to my second point; where have all the reviews gone? I've definitely noticed a decline in number since school started, but sheesh it's been really bad lately! It only takes about a minute to review. Just say whether you liked it or not and why or why not. It's not too hard and really I encourage you to give that kind of feedback to every story you read.

Also I want to thank Popping Fresh for giving me some violin pieces to incorporate. It was extremely helpful!

I keep meaning to mention that my other beta, Kinky-Nami-Lass drew a picture and the link is posted on my profile page. I was very excited about it, since this is the first time someone has drawn something from a story of mine.

Now that all that's done! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please remember to review!

HarmonyRose


	7. First Day of Training

****

Title:

Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **T  
**Disclaimer: **Would I be writing this if I owned Naruto?  
**Summary: **The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A special thanks to my betas Popping Fresh and Kinky-Nami-Lass for putting up with my terrible grammar. Also, a thanks to Lady Kaliska for suggesting this little plot bunny and putting up with me while I figure everything.

Also, a thanks to -delicatedesires ( wouldn't let me put the dot in) for leaving a very nice review that got my rear in gear about writing this chapter. Therefore I'm dedicating this chapter to her. Thank you!

Chapter 7: First day of Training

Neji awoke to the loud thudding of someone knocking on the door to his study. He hadn't even been aware that he had fallen asleep. His sleep was dreamless and deep. Neji abruptly sat up in his chair, noticing that the spare pillow and blanket he'd had a servant take into Haruno-san's bedroom pooled gently around his waist. Why would Haruno-san provide him with those? She was confusing the hell out of him; one minute she was all fiery-fury mixed with frigid ice at the same time and the next she was as mild and welcoming as spring. She was a very… varied individual; that was for sure.

Another thunderous knock resounded through the small, wood-panelled room and Neji quickly put the pillow and blanket under his desk to conceal it before clearing his voice and calling out levelly, "Come in."

The polished metal doorknob turned clockwise and Hatake Kakashi slouched lazily into the room, seemingly grinning behind the navy mask and forehead protector that covered the majority of his face. What any girl would consider a bad hair day was his norm. Kakashi's long, grey hair poofed up and leaned over to one side in an interesting display of defiance. His travelling clothes consisted of a dark-navy outfit that one could easily mistake as black, pants, and long-sleeved undershirt with a puffy, camouflage green vest which covered his lithe, but powerful body. His outfit was neat; nothing was out of place. Lazy was what Kakashi always was, but there wasn't a time he wasn't impeccable in his appearance…or at least what one could see of it.

"Hello Neji," Kakashi acknowledged the other male in the room.

Kakashi took a brief but habitual glance around the room and noticed only one thing out of place, a straight-backed chair in the corner of the room closest to Neji's desk near the lone window at the back of the room. Silently Kakashi wondered if, perhaps, Neji had had some company earlier. Kakashi resolved to squeeze the information out of the tight-lipped private man later.

"How late are you?" Neji asked curtly.

"Just an hour," Kakashi said, with a slight grin making itself visible even through his mask, "I was-"

"Save your excuses. I have a favour to ask of you." Stress lines were obvious on the young man's face as he spoke. This entire situation was wearing on him oppressively.

Kakashi nodded as a gesture to continue. His look had turned utterly serious, almost as if someone had flipped a switch.

"I have to train a spy for a mission involving Uchiha Sasuke. I am unaware of their actual skill level, but it is my guess that it's rather low. Would you be willing to train this person? They demanded that their teacher was someone higher than a Chuunin rank to get the most out of their training," his voice was serious as he spoke, and tension seemed to stream out through his voice. Neji could feel his headache returning to haunt him. The pounding anvil in his head was making no subtle attempts to surprise him. Neji had a feeling that, no matter which answer Kakashi gave, this entire thing would be a fiasco.

"I won't be busy for the next month or two," he answered. Kakashi shrugged out his next reply, "It's not like my kingdom will need me." He paused on that cheerless point and then lightened the mood; "I think I can manage to teach one more brat in my lifetime."

Kakashi hoped that whomever he trained was able to bring them all one step closer to ending the chaos Uchiha Sasuke had started. Heaven knew that he felt guilty enough that one of his previous students had gone rogue and that he, the legendary Copy-Ninja had given him the tools to be able to do so. Unfortunately, Kakashi didn't really believe that any man, no matter how trained he was, could bring back or take down Sasuke.

"Can you start this evening?" Neji asked, now returned to his stoic nature after Kakashi's poignant reminder of how devastating and costly the last war had been.

Kakashi nodded. He had rather suspected as much. With the conclusion of that matter the two lords began their scheduled routine meeting.

* * *

After an early dinner alone, Sakura donned on her newly cleaned pants and grabbed a tight shirt that had been loaned to her by Hyuga-san. On closer inspection of the shirt, Sakura had to guess that the pink Chinese styled top was most likely from the female god of the hunt, Tenten, whom Naruto had mentioned was a friend of Neji Hyuga and had a strange dressing habits. Of course, the irony of the situation was that it was Naruto telling her this, so he might as well have been calling the kettle black. He didn't exactly dress normal either with his fluorescent tangerine training jumpsuits. Her blond friend could be quite oblivious, she mused.

Just as she finished with her thoughts, there was a knock on the door. Sakura threw her hair into a high ponytail and crossed the bedroom with unclad feet. She opened the door and a young girl walked into the room, presumably a maid. Sakura knew the girl was a nymph by her facial features. She had strawberry blonde hair. A delicate facial structure and knowing hazel eyes that seemed much too old for one so young. It was vaguely eerie, the girl was maybe seventeen or eighteen, but her piercing sad eyes looked much older than that. Like the many weary war-torn soldiers, she looked as if she had seen half a lifetime already. Sakura mentally shrugged it off; she supposed she, herself, had seen more than enough for one lifetime, so it wasn't impossible that the girl had too.

"Haruno-san, I'm here to take you to the training grounds. You will probably be waiting awhile. Neji-sama doesn't appear to be done with his meeting just yet," the maid said uninterestedly.

Sakura nodded and the two headed out of the room and down multiple, drearily decorated hallways. She was lost in thought, wondering about her teacher and excited about the possibility of ninja training, something she had been denied as a child because she was a girl and from a prestigious family. She had always desperately wanted to have ninja training, she understood why she couldn't be a ninja, but it didn't help any. When she was younger, she had often gotten into fights with her parents about it; until she learned that it only made her parents more adamantly against it. Of course, she had secretly trained with her best friend Naruto, but he wasn't the best teacher. His personality was suited for it, but he was still too immature to be able to handle that kind of task.

Underneath her excitement, Sakura was apprehensive. What if she wasn't truly fit for ninja training? She was part nymph and though they traditionally had quite a bit of chakra, they often couldn't access it well. She supposed that she could be like her father's human side too and have access to her chakra but have very little. Even though she could use her chakra to some extent and Naruto had always told her that she had better chakra control than he, what if she wasn't as fit to be a ninja as she thought? Self-doubt assailed her mind and it warred on her face, in the form of a creased brow and a gnawed lower lip, as she walked onto the in-closed training grounds.

"I will leave you now," the maid addressed Sakura emotionlessly, "Neji-sama should be done anytime soon." Sakura glanced around and looked at the surrounding land. There were few trees, except for the one no more than twenty-five feet away from her. She slowly made her way toward the tall oak tree, still deep in thought. She gathered chakra to the bottom of her feet and rapidly released it to help her push off from the ground and land on the lowest hanging branch. She sat unceremoniously with her back against the rough bark of the tree.

Sakura was still worried about her aptness, but as the door began to open she schooled her features. Deciding she would cross that bridge should she ever cross it, she sat straighter and relaxed the muscles in her face.

Hours later Neji and Kakashi walked in and zeroed in on her unhidden chakra. Ever since that particular incident in her youth, Kakashi had always had been able to track her chakra extraordinarily well. Not because it was overly visible, but simply because he had been attuned to her chakra to help guard her after her incident. He was delightfully surprised to find out who his new student was. He had at one point asked the Lord and Lady for permission to train their daughter and had been denied.

"You're late again Kakashi-sensei," Sakura's voice carried over to the doorway.

"Hello Sakura-chan. I saw a weltering plant on the way here and I couldn't just leave it, I had to transplant it and nourish it," he started to explain.

"Liar," Sakura mumbled quietly. She was quite used to his excuses.

"I guess I do get to train you after all," Kakashi said with his one uncovered eye crinkled up in a gesture that suggested he was smiling.

Neji, who had been silent through all of the exchange, was secretly disappointed. He had hoped that the girl wouldn't know what she was in for. It appeared however that since she had a previous acquaintance with her new teacher that she knew just what to expect. Neji sighed, "I will leave you two." He walked silently back out the door.

Sakura hopped out of the tree and landed on the hard packed ground on the balls of her feet and with her knees bent to absorb the shock. Kakashi pulled out his explicit orange covered book and propped it in front of his face. "Alright Sakura, you know the tree climbing exercise. Show me how well you can climb up the tree," Kakashi said.

He was met with a blank stare. Sakura asked, "What is the tree climbing exercise? Naruto didn't mention that."

Kakashi was quiet for a moment; he had assumed that she had sought out her own teacher of some sort, since her chakra was well developed. She hadn't though; she had gotten advice from the most inept person to teach, her best friend Naruto. Kakashi grimaced internally; he might have to start from scratch as it was unlikely Sakura would be able to get up the tree today. Kakashi sighed gently, before putting his book into his kunai holster.

He walked up to the tree and then proceeded to walk up the tree smoothly without breaking the rhythm of his stride. He walked on the underside of the second branch to hang upside down. He opened his mouth to speak to explain the process when Sakura interrupted, "Are you gathering your chakra to the bottom of your feet and using it to stick to the tree?"

Kakashi nodded and then bent to grab the branch before swinging himself into a sitting position on top of the branch. He took out his orange book again and glanced down at his student. "Practice that till you get it right. It might take awhile…" his voice drifted off as he noticed that she wasn't really listening to him. She was staring unseeingly at the tree. Her gaze was unfocused and she was chewing unconsciously on her bottom lip as she thought.

"You can take a running start," Kakashi spoke up after a minute not bothering to spare her a glance. Sakura walked up to the tree and as she reached it she activated her chakra. She placed one foot on the bark of the tree and then melded her chakra to be similar to the trees so that her chakra and the tree's were flowing between each other. She placed her other foot a little higher on the tree and connected her chakra once again to the tree's life force. Gently she severed the connection between her bottom foot and placed it above the topmost foot. She continued her pattern as Kakashi watched on. He'd never seen anyone meld their chakra to a tree on their first try tree climbing. Granted that wasn't exactly the way he wanted her to tree climb, but it was impressive nonetheless. He'd never taught a forest nymph either and he supposed that her special display might be a result of her heritage.

Sakura reached the branch where her sensei sat and she grinned triumphantly at him. "That was good, now walk on that pond over there," Kakashi pointed out a small pond a good hundred feet away. That way Kakashi could see how good her chakra control was without having the extra distraction of her combining her chakra with another life force; that was a whole other advanced skill altogether. Kakashi leaped down and landed gracefully on both feet before he began walking toward his student. As he neared her he watched her walk carefully around in a loose circle. Her chakra created tiny ripples where she stepped. After seeing that she wasn't in any danger of falling, Sakura became more bold launched herself up into a jump before landing safely on the surface of the pond. Now she was doing the kind of chakra control exercise he wanted.

"Alright let's go to the field, to see what you can really do," Kakashi said with a sigh, he had really wanted to get some reading done this evening. Her control was impressive and he already knew she had a good amount of chakra, but he needed to know how well she could harness it to her needs and what her repertoire of jutsus was.

* * *

Kakashi breezed into Neji's study, prepared to brief him on his student when Neji quietly interrupted him, "How do you know Haruno Sakura?"

Kakashi sighed, all pretences of whimsicalness erased, "There is something you need to understand about Sakura. She's been hurt in the past and blames herself for uncontrollable circumstances. She has been a sarcastic old woman since eleven years of age and a jaded woman since age sixteen. She hasn't had an easy life."

"Who has?" Neji asked in retribution. What had she had happen that was so much worse than everyone else's experience? Clearly Kakashi was just making excuses for this girl and allowing her to wallow in her self-pity.

"Do not mistake me. I do not believe she should wallow in the past, making herself feel guilty for the sins of others, but if you knew her story and mindset, you would see the reason."

The God of the Underworld merely raised his brow and asked, "Pray tell, what happened to her then?"

Kakashi responded, "It isn't widely known and if Sakura knew I told you this, she would quit and you'd be out of one hell of a spy. Plus she would probably literally kill me." The masked ninja gave Neji a stern look, "Do not let her even guess that you know her story. Especially not the version I'm going to tell you. That would give me away immediately."

"Get on with the story," Neji mumbled impatiently; stupid old ninjas and their need to make things overly-dramatic.

Kakashi started his tale, "Sakura…"

_Was just eleven years old at the time. She and a visiting friend of the same age had gone out to the green pasture just outside of the castle walls. They were running through the field, giggling with grass jewellery hanging from their necks and tied around their wrists._

_A ninja garbed entirely in grey, suddenly appeared in the field and grasped the shoulders of Sakura's friend. Sakura asked politely if the man would please let friend go. He laughed, a dark sound erupting from his throat. Sakura grew scared; this could be one of those strangers her mother had warned her about. The captured girl let out a small whimper and then man sneered at her, "I don't think so."_

_Sakura swallowed the fear lodged in her throat and wanted to scream. "Now, now no screaming there is no one to hear you and besides you wouldn't want your friend hurt would you, Miss. Sakura?" the man asked mockingly. _

_Sakura shook her head. She wouldn't let her friend be hurt. "Come to me or else," he fingered the grass necklace on the girl in his arms and moved his hand to her neck, two fingers placed on either side of her windpipe, "you get the point."_

_Sakura stared wide-eyed at the man and even though every instinct in her body told her to run away from the man she walked near him and tugged on his sleeve. "Please don't hurt her, I'll come easily."_

_He grinned maliciously, "I knew you would see it my way." The ninja flickered himself and the little girls to a facility. He held them roughly by the forearms, bruising the tender skin. He half dragged them down a long hallway, his strides too long for the girls to keep up with. He kicked open the third doorway before the end of the hall and shoved the kids inside. "My part is done. Hand over the money," the ninja said to the man in charge._

_The man in charge was a heavy set man, but by no means was he a weakling. He was buff, but looked as if he just enjoyed being in charge. He was tall and had a husky frame. His eyes were a steely grey and his hair a jet black. He waved the man out and motioned for the two girls to step forward; they did so hesitantly. He smiled insincerely, "Come with me."_

_He walked with them toward a side room; scared stares watched his back and eyed the other leering men in the room. The two girls grasped hands and walked to the closed doorway that the man had walked toward. He opened the door to reveal a gloomy staircase. He held the door open for the two little girls, like a gentleman would for a lady, but he was no gentleman. The girls treaded carefully down the steps and the sight which greeted them when the reached the bottom truly terrified them. There was a man down there. He was naked, tied at the hands and feet, and his eyes were dilated with raw fear. The man came up behind them and pushed the two girls forward into the room. The force of the push nearly separated them, but they held to each other tightly._

"_Alright little pink-headed wench, do you know why you're here?" the man sneered at her. Sakura shook her head, her eyes widened, she was in so much trouble. She shouldn't have wandered off when her mother told her to stay in the castle walls. She should have listened, but she didn't and now she was afraid she would die and drag her shy friend down with her._

"_No? Well let me inform you. You're here, because your daddy won't surrender in the war and he's starting to win, so you see you're here as a little warning to him. Now, just write your daddy a little note telling him you're in trouble and for you to be released he'll need to surrender" the domineering man told her. _

_Sakura whimpered out, "No." She wouldn't do that, this war was very important to her daddy and the people of her province. She was no traitor and Sakura knew first hand just how many husbands, sons, and women were dying in the battle field. She saw bodies get buried almost everyday when she snuck into town. She couldn't say yes to this man, it would be unfair to all those people who died._

"_Well, I didn't expect you to say yes when I asked, so…" he smiled evilly, "I brought some persuasion." He gestured over to the tied-up man. Sakura backed up toward the wall, but the man snatched her hand and dragged her to him. She let go of her friend's hand. The man pulled her to where the man was lifted him into a sitting position; his back leaned against the wall. The man took out a kunai, grinned maliciously, and asked, "Okay princess, this is your last chance to say yes. Otherwise you're going to kill this man. What do you say?" He twirled the kunai on his fingers._

_Sakura couldn't speak she was too frightened. She looked at the man with sorrow, truly sorry for what the man was going to do to him, and shook her head. Her captor dragged the sharp kunai in between the prone man's hands and the man began crying as he watched the blood drip from his own hands. Sakura tried to jerk away when her captor pried her hand open and forced the bloodied kunai into it. "No, you don't. I told you, if you refused you were going to kill this man. I wasn't kidding. I'm not killing him; you are," the man told her with a crazy glint in his eyes. He was enjoying this. _

_He gripped the wrist with the kunai and brought it toward the man's neck. Sakura was desperately struggling against him trying to prevent it. The knife met the man's neck and Sakura stopped moving afraid any motion would slit the man's throat. Her captor held her hand there and stepped behind her to grab her other hand. Sakura was frozen in fear. This wasn't supposed to happen. She cried out in her mind for someone to save her. He put her other hand to the man on the floors pulse. Sakura could feel only three things; utter terror, the cold metal of the kunai in her hand, and the man's racing pulse. The captor pressed her wrist into the man's neck. Crimson blood flowed from his neck and Sakura felt his heart rate slow to a stop and heard his last breath. Sakura was stock still and the evil man tossed her in front of her friend, kunai still in her hand. The kunai cluttered to the floor and she stared at her hands. There was blood all over them and a drop fell from her pinkie. There was a man's blood on her hands. She brought her palms closer to her face and then the shaking started; she was scared, shocked, and had just killed a man. _

_The fear was overwhelming her and she continued to stare at the crimson on her pale hands, and the man laughed. She tried to call for help from anyone, but her voice wasn't working. No sound came from her mouth except whimpers and rasping breaths. "Little girl, it's your turn now. Come on now, don't you want to please me? I might let you go if you do." The sneer on his face was repulsive and degrading, dirty even. There was a disgusting eagerness on his face, to kill, to hurt, to terrorize, and to see other souls suffering. The small girl was in no condition to listen. Her heart beat rapidly; what had she done to deserve this and her sweet friend had been dragged into this too…whose fault was this? Was it hers? She prayed that it wasn't, but knew that it was. _

_Sakura could hear her friend whimpering like a kicked puppy behind her that was horribly terrified of another kick. The man moved agonizing slow toward the girls trying to prolong their suffering. He reached Sakura and grabbed her wrist again, "You and I are the same now child. We both have blood on our hands." He traced her palm with a finger, smearing the blood farther._

_Sakura became uncontrollably angry and spat, "I am nothing like you."_

_He chuckled, "Oh but, you are." He jerked her closer to him and in her anger Sakura felt a staggering energy flow through her. In blind instinct she utilized the power and channelled it through her captured hands. The man's eyes stared at her and he fell to the ground dead. His hands where she had released the energy into him were raw and bleeding. Sakura staggered back in terror. There was now more blood on her hands. She fell to the ground crying. She was like that man she had killed two men that day and one she had murdered willingly. She sobbed brokenly, tears falling on her palms and mixing with the blood. The blood and her guilt sickened her and she threw up. And she screamed._

_She wasn't sure how long she sat crying and staring at her hands. It could have been hours or days, but she had no idea; time seemed to pass her by. She could still distantly hear her friend whimpering somewhere behind her, but she was too caught for it to register. The sole window leading to the outside broke and a ninja climbed through it and looked around for anyone who would try to stop his mission. The ninja was dressed in a black ANBU suit with a whiter than snow mask on. _

_He saw the two dead men on the floor and then looked to the sobbing pink-haired girl. He was confused and then he saw the blood and understood. He gently grabbed the girl and transported her outside the compound. Once out he whispered, "Hush, it'll be okay now. You did what you had to."_

_As if just noticing she was in someone's arms, her eyes widened and she punched weakly at his chest. "Let me go. I don't want to be touched. I don't know you. Put me down," she screeched in terror. Quickly he tore off his ANBU mask, so she could she his face. His head band was across his forehead and a pair of mix-matched eyes looked down at her. Realizing she was in emotional turmoil, he hushed gently again and sent in another person to get her dark-haired friend. _

"_Shh, you do know me. I'm another Lord. You've met me before. It's Kakashi Hatake, I work with your father," he tried to get through to her. A fresh wave of tears started at the mention of her father. She didn't want to face him. This was all her fault and she had murdered men._

"_It's okay. You did what was necessary. Your father will still love you," Kakashi whispered. He looked toward the compound and wondered what was taking his fellow ninja so long. Just then a thundering came from the building and the ground shook. In just a blink of the eye the compound collapsed. He set Sakura down and told her not to move. She stared at him and cried out, "I can't stand another death on my conscious. Please find my friend!"_

_He nodded. He searched the rubble, but could find no trace of his man or the other little girl. It was getting dark and he went back to Sakura. She had dead look in her eyes as she said, "You should have gotten her out first. She wasn't tainted." She cried no more._

_Kakashi's heart bled for the little girl and he whispered, "It's not your fault."_

_She gazed through him, "Yes it is."_

_Kakashi sighed and he hoisted her back into his arms, before beginning the long trek home._

_For many months afterward Lord and Lady Haruno, out of fear of another attempt on their daughter's life, kept Kakashi as their daughter's bodyguard. He had stayed for the girls comfort._

Kakashi had finished his long tale and sat silently for a minute, before he spoke once more, "You have to understand that if she makes a certain connection she will no longer feel comfortable in this house." Neji eyed Kakashi confusedly. Kakashi sighed, "Her friend who died in the collapsed building; her name was Hinata Hyuga, your cousin. Do not mention her to Sakura ever." Neji nodded, he barely remembered Hinata's death, it was many years ago, so it wouldn't be hard not to mention it.

"Thank you for letting me know her story. It goes a long way to understanding why Sakura seems so cold," Neji said dismissing Kakashi as it was getting late in the evening.

Kakashi stood and on his way to the door he turned and said protectively, "One more thing. She's had enough hurt in her life. Do not play around with Sakura like you do your other women. I know you well enough to know you couldn't ever be serious about a woman. You hurt Sakura and I will not hesitate to heap retribution."

Neji scoffed, "Have no fear. I do not plan on taking interest in a woman again until this Sasuke situation gets taken care of."

Kakashi gave one last threatening glare and then headed out of the room.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please Review

HarmonyRose


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M- for safety  
**Disclaimer: **I'm writing fanfiction that should tell you that obviously I don't own Naruto.  
**Summary: **The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevalence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

A/N This chapter is unbeta'd because it has been so long since I've updated I wanted to get this out as soon as possible and I"m not entirely sure my betas aren't too busy.

**_Music suggestion: I Wanna- All American rejects_**

**Chapter eight: Trying to Take on the World**

Sakura was once again at the training grounds working with Kakashi. It had been two weeks since Neji had even talked to her, or summoned her to play for him, and in those weeks she had managed to get a lot of training in. Though she had learned enough ninjutsu for a low-level ninja, that wasn't what her training mostly consisted of. No, for the most part Kakashi had taught her a number of advanced genjutsu, which was only possible because she was a natural at genjutsu, had good chakra control, and could apply her book smarts to the lesson. Without any one of those conditions it would have been impossible for her to have learned the eight new advanced genjutsus as well as a quite a few of the simpler ones. Basically, her sensei was trying to build up her repertoire, so she could use a jutsu for any tight situations she may or may not get herself into. She had the skills; what she needed the most was to know the jutsu and have a bit of practice casting it and seeing the practical sides to each of them.

Kakashi had also managed to teach her basic weaponry. Which is what she found herself doing. Her teacher had handed her a new set of senbon and before throwing them at the target, he had shown her exactly what balance she needed and how to hold them correctly. He sent five flying and unsurprisingly they hit each vital spot on the target dummy perfectly.

Sakura, having trained with Kunai, enough to give her blisters on her hands as well as improve her aim felt more confident today that she would be able to master this. Unfortunately for Sakura, Kunai and Senbon were very different from each other. As such it took several attempts to correctly throw them.

Sakura closed her emerald eyes and centered her thinking getting ready to make her first attempt. The metal was cool against her palms. She opened her eyes and after slightly adjusting her fingers to correct the balance, she let the senbon fly. They hit the target. Unfortunately, she had thrown them hard enough to have them go through the dummy. Sakura glanced at her sensei, relieved to see that he still had his nose stuck in his perverted book and probably hadn't seen that embarrassing attempt.

For the next attempt she over-corrected and to her inner mortification the senbon didn't even hit the target. Swearing profusely, Sakura marched toward the fallen weapons and picked them up from the ground. She violently yanked the bits of grass off and stomped back.

Kakashi raised a brow at her lively antics, wondering when she had learned those words. He was glad though that she had some life in her. The last time he'd seen her all those years ago she was a mere shadow of the playful girl she had been. The new child was abnormally serious and spoke only when etiquette demanded. So now, even if her demeanor was prickily, Kakashi would take that over the broken-looking girl he'd saved ten years ago.

After the first few attempts she could consistently hit the target but, one or two of the senbon would end up in the wrong spot.

Two hours into the practice, Sakura's feet ached and her arms were beginning to become hard to lift. However, she still hadn't quiet mastered the technique though she was determined to learn it. There was still a minor problem with her aim, every time she aimed she either was a little off with all the senbon or in the best case scenario only one was off. Either way though she was messing something up and it was starting to annoy her. The pink haired woman took a deep breath and relaxed her features.

Eyes still glued to his orange book, Kakashi spoke up, "Don't force your wrist. The motion should be smoother. When the motion is smoother it'll also have more velocity, so be careful you don't throw them too hard or they will go through the target again."

"Kakashi-sensei why didn't you speak up hours ago?" Sakura demanded. Two hours into the practice and this was the first time he had said anything, let alone make a suggestion to help.

He shrugged.

Sakura tightened her fists and narrowed her eyes. Who did he think he was? He was so infuriating! She might have already been done if this suggestion helped. Sighing, she once again let the tension out of her body. She already knew about Kakashi-sensei's unorthodox teaching methods, so she shouldn't be surprised, nor could she get that mad at him. He was who he was, even if he was a no-good, porn-reading, incompetent, idiot of a man. Sakura closed her eyes and shook the tension out of her shoulders. It wasn't worth it or at least that's what she kept telling herself to keep from attacking her instructor.

Now relaxed she decided that she would try that tip. With her bottom lip between her teeth, Sakura flicked her wrist and sent the senbon flying. They hit their marks. Instantly the woman's concentrated expression broke. Her eyes glowed excitedly and she collected the senbon. She threw them several times before moving farther back and then to the sides. After several successful attempts from different locations Kakashi finally spoke, his head still buried in his book, "Now try it while you're running."

Sakura jerked her head toward the unexpected noise. He talked again. It must be a miracle, she thought sarcastically. Cooling the vibrant gleam in her eyes and relaxing the muscles around her mouth Sakura wiped the expression off her face. She still had a long ways to go before she could master these weapons. Though she was decent, thanks to Kakashi-sensei, she would still have to work tirelessly through the rest of her lessons if she even wanted to have a chance at spying successfully. With that in mind she worked at aiming while running and later with a moving target.

By the end of the training session Sakura felt accomplished, she hadn't mastered the techniques, that would have been an unrealistic expectation, but she had done well and managed to even surprise Kakashi-sensei with how well she had done that day.

It was late afternoon before Sakura finished. Her shoulders sagged as she dragged her sore arms through the hallway to her room. Reaching her room, the tired Kunoichi-in-training all but fell onto the bed, collapsing in a heap. Dull green eyes settled on her violin case, thinking about her employer for the first time in hours. It was odd that he hadn't called for her playing in weeks though her music was the main reason she was brought to his estate. A frown curved her lips downward when an uneasy sentiment nudged her consciousness. Something was obviously wrong and despite how weary she felt from training, she would try to figure it out. Sighing heavily, Sakura rose, changed, and picked up her violin.

In the halls, Sakura wandered around listening to the servants chatter. When she reached his private office she wasn't surprised to see the soft ethereal glow emanating from underneath the heavy door. Apparently just like always, Hyuuga Neji was in his study. Why was she not surprised?

Gently she rapped her knuckles against the door. The nymph moved some of her pink hair behind the shell of an ear and pressed it to the wood. Hearing a weary, "Come in," Sakura grasped and turned the door handle and pressed her weight into the door. She gently shut the door behind her, once again in the burgundy and cream décor of his office.

Neji had sounded exhausted through the door, but it hadn't prepared Sakura for the sight she beheld. Pale eyes were rimmed with dark circles and his already pale skin was pasty and ghostly white. It was obvious he hadn't eaten or slept well in days. She moved to the chair still set in the corner of the room and placed her violin down as she continued to stare. Shock at his appearance quickly faded and indignant anger quickly replaced it. Her own exhaustion forgotten she marched right up to his desk and slammed both hands down, "What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to prove Sasuke right? Because you are doing a pretty damn good job of it."

He glared at her angry visage, "No, I have work to do. If that is all, leave."

"That is not all; you can't just not take care of yourself. How long have you been awake?" Sakura asked sure she wasn't going to like the answer.

With his tone like ice he said, "That's none of your concern."

Sakura gripped the edge of the desk and leaned forward in a confrontational manner. As she got closer she said, "It is too my business! If you get sick or can't take care of your territory who are the people going to believe, a sick ruler or a healthy rebel? You may be a god, but you aren't invincible. Now, how many days?"

Willing to tell her but, unwilling to be cowed Neji stood to his full height towering over her. His face taunt with stress and anger he looked down at her bristling, petite form. Arguing with her wasn't going to get his work done, but there was no way he was going to back down from this woman who had already bested him several times.

"Four days." His gaze narrowed, silently daring her to confront him.

Sakura closed her eyes, worry spiraling through her. Four days was longer than she suspected and it was completely unhealthy. Emerald eyes lost their fire as she peered up at the male. Tilting her head to the side she asked, "What's so important that you can't sleep? Or take care of yourself?

Still irritated at Sakura's intrusion Neji replied with a vague answer, "A number of things."

"Care to be a little clearer?" Sakura was now as rational as he had ever seen her. There were no angry words or physical displays of said anger. Neji thought she might even be a little concerned about him personally, but he didn't have time to be analyzing every emotion that flitted through her, though he could see that as calm as she was she wasn't going to let this go anytime soon if he didn't divulge anything.

Feeling the need to justify himself, he started on his laundry list of current issues, "Uchiha Sasuke is rumored to have gained favor with several human lords and I have been tasked to figure out whom the rebels are or if this is just a ruse. Also, I have managed to forget I'm having dinner with another god tomorrow, and though I doubt he'd mind that I don't have entertainment or a proper dinner menu prepared I am a god and therefore must follow certain protocol. There are the day to day tasks of managing the underworld that I have to see to. In addition to that as I'm sure you've heard by now."

Neji turned up his nose, seemingly too proud to say the next ordeal he was facing. Finally managing to look a tad bit constipated with the sour twist of his lips he said, "I'm working my way out of the ridiculous demand the other Gods made at the last meeting."  
Sakura's jaw had dropped sometime during the middle of his minor rant. She was pretty certain that that was the most she had ever heard him speak. However, the nymph quickly regained her composure; inconspicuously closing her mouth (her mother would have been ashamed if she knew) and like any woman worth her salt she rapidly prioritized the list and anything she could do to ease his load.

She was determined to get her employer resting by this evening. Her gaze hardened as she nodded in acquiesce toward him, "I admit that's quite the list however, I believe I can help with a few of those."

Neji was suspicious; what could a girl do to help him, except for marry him? Which was certainly not what he wanted, but he had had enough offers from some of the more forward women not to suspect her to say such a thing.

She did no such thing. Staring shrewdly Sakura said, "I suspect I can help you figure out who the rebels are." She waved off his incredulity before continuing on, "The week before I was so rudely abducted from my home by your henchmen, I had the distinct honor of overhearing a conversation between five other lords and my father, whom they were trying to persuade to join a militant cause led by an Uchiha. I just hadn't realized your intelligence gathering was so limited or else I would have disclosed the names as soon as I came under your employment."

Surprised, but greatly relieved that he wouldn't have to send out his spies on another dangerous espionage mission he asked that she write down the names on a missive he had already began to the head of the gods. The head as well as the other gods needed to be informed of the developments.

Grabbing the proffered scroll and pen, Sakura quickly listed the dissenting lords down in girly cursive. Looking over the names and satisfied she had remembered all the lords that had been present, she handed the list back to the tired male.

If possible, upon receiving the list, Neji seemed to grow more exhausted. He now knew why none of his spies had been successful. He had a leak. A very influential leak at that.

"Are you sure these names are correct?" the grave expression on his face as he asked was enough to ensure that her response was also serious.

"I am positive."

It was someone who Neji would never have suspected. The lord was a medical prodigy and it appeared he was also a convincing actor. Lord Yakushi Kabuto was the traitor and it was too bad, because he knew many of the Underworld's secrets as his adopted father was an advisor to the previous god of the Underworld who so happened to be Neji's own uncle.

Neji was displeased with the turn of events but, realized that there was nothing more he could do about the situation this evening, so he would deal with his other issues.

Sakura's voice held contempt as she spoke, "I'm not sure what idiotic decision the council has come up with this time, but good luck getting out of it. And though I am unable to help you in that aspect, I can assist you in another." The nymph continued her tone softening, "Do not worry about dinner and entertainment tomorrow I will take care of it."

She didn't know? He thought Ino had informed every woman in the world that he needed a wife. In any case he wasn't going to tell her either. She would end up useless to him if she turned rabid. He'd had enough of that with other girls. Turning back to his work, he dismissed her without words.

Sakura wasn't going to take that though and so she said, "No more work it's time you got some sleep." Without waiting for an answer, the woman grabbed his hand and her instrument and dragged him off to his room.

Too surprised and tired to fight, Neji let himself be tugged through his residence. He knew that he should put up a protest but, he couldn't muster enough energy to be properly indignant. She pulled him right into his room and shut the door behind them.

Sakura pointed toward the joined bathroom, "Now, go change."

Taking stock of the room, Sakura noticed the room was done in the same dark stained wood and cream color that Neji's office was. As Sakura glanced around looking for a chair to sit on she noticed that the furniture matched the dreary feel of the room, however despite the fact that there was a bed, dresser, and a nightstand, there wasn't a chair or really anywhere for her to sit. Wrinkling her brow and giving the furniture a critical look, Sakura decided against using it as a place to sit. Somehow she figured that Neji would not appreciate that.

When Sakura heard the telltale sounds of the facet in the bathroom she broke out of her musing and began to remove her violin from its case. Gently she adjusted the string tension of each the four strings by tightening the pegs on the neck of the instrument and the tiny knobs for minor pitch correction near the bridge. Listening to the pitch of each string individually and then in pairs Sakura was content when all the strings sounded in the correct perfect fifths. The room filled with fast staccato and then long vibrato tones of a happy major scale that readied her fingers and hands for performance. By the time the violinist had finished her warm-up, Neji was already lying down.

He watched as she began a light tune he didn't recognize. For a minute he watched just how her slim fingers danced over the strings; a pleasure he had been denied that first time he'd heard her melodies. Her fingers caressed each string creating sweet-sounding quarter and half notes. Soon watching became too much as the gentle song easily swept him into a slumber.

Sakura, herself was careful not to let herself get carried away in the music and stopped after the first play through. She tiredly opened eyes that she hadn't known she had closed as her drowsiness hit full force. Fighting a losing battle to keep her eyes open Sakura bent to put her violin away, only barely managing from years of practice.

Sitting back up the nymph took one last look at the god lying on the bed. She brushed a lock of soft hair from his face. He looked much younger in sleep, closer to his age, rather than the mask of age he wore during his waking hours. It was such a nice change that a serene smile graced her face.

Her last thought before succumbing to the weariness that pleaded and coaxed her body into relaxing all day was that the young god had too much on his plate to handle alone like he was trying. Perhaps she could lend a hand for the duration of her stay. For although she was female, due to her mixed blood and only child status she would rule her parent's lands. As such she had been receiving intelligence and political reports since she was eleven so maybe she would do some discrete digging around during her next letter home and hand over anything interesting.

* * *

I'm sorry I haven't updated anything in so long, but I've had some family issues. My little sister had open heart surgery at the beginning of the school year and it's been really difficult on my family, but we're fine now.

Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that there wasn't too many errors. Please REVIEW it makes me more likely to update faster!

Thanks ~HarmonyRose


	9. Old Friends

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **T  
**Disclaimer: **It's probably a good thing I don't own Naruto, with how long it is I doubt I would ever be able to finish it  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

**Chapter nine: Old Friends**

Neji knew before he opened his eyes that it was still night; the utter weariness in his body told him he had only been asleep a few hours. He wasn't sure exactly what woke him until he saw the small figure leaned halfway onto his bed frantically murmuring to herself in her sleep. For a moment he couldn't remember what she was doing in his room. He turned inquisitive silvery eyes on her before he remembered that she had played for him so that he could fall asleep. Grudgingly, Neji rolled out of the other side of the bed and moved to pick Sakura up. She stopped her sleep talking the moment she was ensconced in his arms. She was feather-light and soft in his hold and somewhere in his half-awake mind he registered that beneath her clothes she had those enticing things called curves. As he carried her down the corridor Neji examined her face. He supposed she had a rather pretty face; she wasn't the classic beauty he normally sought out, not with her ridiculous coloring and blend of human and nymph features, but nonetheless she was still a pretty woman in her own right.

It was the first time Neji truly looked at her, before she was a violinist or occasionally another of his spies in his brief thoughts of her. Now though he took all the information he knew about her from the last few weeks and tried to reconcile the vulnerable woman in his arms to the determined warrior and cautious creature he saw during the day. Despite all the hurt she had gone through in her life, it was hard to tell since she kept everyone at an emotional distance. He figured that it was a scar of hers from her past experiences; probably the only visible scar she let anyone see. It was doubtful that anyone who didn't know her though would pick up that it was all a ruse and that she was just shutting people out not to be hurt, not because she didn't like people. Neji was surprised to realize that he didn't know anything about Sakura from herself only from what could be observed and Kakashi. He didn't even know her age or any personal information of hers. Sakura was just as proficient at hiding herself behind masks as he was. Granted her masks were meant to throw people off the trail of her pain whereas his were designed to seem as if nothing could touch him.

When Neji reached her bedroom door he broke out of his reverie. He padded silently into the room and gently set the sleeping woman down. Perhaps tomorrow he would attempt to figure out his houseguest a little more. For now though he desperately needed sleep if he intended to stay awake for more than five minutes tomorrow.

* * *

Sakura woke up at the first stirring from the servant's quarters above her room. She quickly dressed in her training clothes for the day and made her way to the kitchen to talk to the cook. At the entrance to the kitchen Sakura caught up with the cook. The cook was an elderly woman with blue-grey hair and a trim figure. She bowed slightly in reverence to the elder cook and as she rose began to speak in a warm tone, "Excuse me, cook-san, but Hyuuga-sama has an important God dining with him this evening and was wondering if it would be possible for you to whip up a dinner fit for that. If the notice is too short than I think I can be of assistance. If it makes your job easier at all please send for me."

The cook ran disapproving eyes over Sakura's form, appraising her worth as she scanned from head to toe. Sakura didn't flinch, she stood still and met her stare with a cool look. The noblewoman could handle sneering and leering dignitaries, so she had no problem dealing with nasty looks from a mere cook.

The cook responded, "You're that new violinist that has been hanging all over Neji-sama. Just so you know, you can get rid of any aspirations you have. He won't marry you, even if you are sleeping together. Furthermore, I doubt he would go for someone untitled, so don't cause us any trouble. The staff and I are quite fed up with featherbrained peasant girls and their uppity attitudes."

Sakura's jaw had tightened during the cook's response and her sea-foam eyes had darkened to emerald in her anger. She held herself erect, her noble persona coming to the front as her voice turned frigid when she spoke, "Is this any way to treat a guest? Neji-san has asked for my assistance and as heiress to the Eastern Kingdom, an allied nation to the Underworld, I decided to help. I'll only say this once, I'm not interested in Neji-san nor do I need any of his assets and assumptions otherwise are rude." Okay so that was a little white lie. Really Sakura had literally come kicking and screaming here and only agreed once she had seen how bad things were here.

The cook's wrinkled face relaxed and turned grandmotherly as she spoke, "It's too bad then that you aren't interested. All those women that had come previously were just trying to secure a wealthy husband and I'm afraid they have rather damaged his already skewed perception of women. He would do well with someone like you though. However, I apologize Haruno-sama for the accusations I made." The old woman punctuated her words with a bow.

Sakura dropped her angry visage, instinctively sensing that if she wanted to survive peacefully in this household then she would need to be on good terms with this woman. Besides, Sakura rather liked this woman, she stood up for what she believed was right and was very loyal to her master; truly an asset Hyuga-san probably didn't realize he had.

"No harm done." Sakura relaxed once again around the woman.

"I should be able to have dinner ready with this much notice. Thank you for your offer of help, but we should be fine," the cook said.

Relieved by this news, since Sakura still had other tasks to do, she nodded absentmindedly and hurried back down the hall toward the formal dining hall.

Lists ran through her head: Dinner was taken care of, the dining room was set, and she would be playing. The only thing left to do would be to get dressed and inform Hyuga-san that everything was taken care of.

Returning to her room Sakura went to find something suitable to wear. However, before she got into her room the nymph maid from weeks ago met her at the door with a garment. The strawberry blonde maid nodded toward Sakura and handed her the clothes and began to walk off. Sakura wrinkled her pink brows. The maid was so mysterious and brooding. Sakura mightn't consider herself friendly, but she didn't consider herself rude either and not offering one's name was certainly rude. Sakura had had enough of rude people for the day.

Before the maid could get very far Sakura's eyes took on a hard glint and she called out harshly, just loud enough for the other woman to hear, "My name is Sakura and yours is…?"

The maid turned chilly dead eyes onto her and tonelessly said, "Fuyuko. Do not bother me. It's annoying." There was a slight sneer on her lips and she held herself tensely as if just being in Sakura's presence was trying. Then the maid continued on as if nothing had been said. Sakura let it go; She didn't like being called annoying for the same reason she didn't like to be called weak. It brought back too many bitter memories. Sakura mused on the odd maid. She had been extremely rude and abrupt, but she hadn't been cruel in fact, if Sakura had to guess, she would have said that the maid was more bitter than anything else. Either way she didn't have time to deal with grumpy maids and so she hurried into her room.

Once there she saw that there was the maid that normally helped her dress in the morning already waiting for her. The nymph sighed in gratitude the corners of her full lips turned up slightly. Finally something was going right.

Sakura spread the gown out and her breathe caught. The material was a soft cream silk. The cream was so light though it almost looked white and the color wouldn't clash with her skin tone. The neckline was square and the sleeves were long and flowed out from the shoulder. The garment cinched right underneath the bust with silk ties that blended into the soft folds in the back of the dress. The skirt was embroidered with delicate plum-colored Viola blossoms sprinkled over the fabric. The flowers had five tiny heart-shaped petals per flower and were unevenly spread onto the fabric.

The gown was beautiful and nicer than anything she had ever seen, even as heiress to a kingdom. The silk felt like water on her finger tips Sakura was uncharacteristically worried that it would become damaged in some way. It was an elegant dress and must have belonged to a former lady of the house. It probably had some sentimentality attached to it as well. Turning to the maid left in the room Sakura motioned the girl to help her dress. As she neared Sakura whispered, "Be gentle please."

Sakura wasn't one for fancy dresses and girly things, but she felt that extra care needed to be involved for this one.

Neji was in his office once again. He had just a few minutes until he needed to get ready to greet the other lord. Though Neji seriously doubted that this one lord would particularly care whether he was dressed in silk or in ninja gear. Neji let an amused noise slip from his mouth, he probably wouldn't notice either way.

A gentle knock from a servant came from his office door and the coffee-haired lord granted access to her. It was one servant he hadn't seen yet. She was possibly sixteen or so and Neji just figured she must be new. The servant trailed in and trained her eyes downward. Neji hated that. He wondered if he was just that inapproachable, Naruto's servants never seemed to practically cower in front of him.

"You can stop the posturing; just what is it that you needed to relay?"

Though the young girl looked up she was obviously still nervous. Her voice came out shaky as she said, "Sakura-sama will be ready in about fifteen minutes. She asks that you escort her to the room."

Neji now understood what Sakura was planning for entertainment. She would be providing it herself. He was surprised that she knew of the tradition for lords to escort the entertainer down, particularly if they were of the opposite gender. The tradition had been mostly for the lord or lady to assess the trustworthiness of the musician and make sure that they weren't spying for another. Neji assumed that he was the only one whose guardians had made sure that he had memorized all the boring and useless rules, but apparently the Harunos had made sure their daughter was savvy on all things social and political as well.

He dismissed the maid both from his presence and his mind as he rose to fix his attire for the occasion. Once ensconced in his private quarters, Neji donned his formal wear. It was cream, his family's color. All families had a color or set of them. The Hyuga needed only one color to identify them, but Neji thought if they ever had a second color it would be the plum that his mother had liked to wear before she had disappeared. His mother had always worn just plum and cream, sometimes she had worn more plum than cream and now that he looked back he wondered if his mother hadn't been a Hyuga before she had wed. It would make sense why they had chosen his uncle to rule instead of his father, since his uncle had married a demure Hyuga woman. He barely remembered his mother though and there were no pictures. The only thing he remembered was the colors she had worn and her faint smell of hyacinth.

Neji tried to remember what the Haruno's colors would be, since surely the maid would have put her in those as she wasn't really his escort. Finally Neji remembered the scroll on the Harunos. On it was depicted a ferocious brunette man standing on a hill looking over the carnage he had wrought. The Harunos had been a warrior clan when they were first started, using a deadly combination of brute strength, excellent chakra control, and keen intelligence. Fortunately for the most part they weren't blood thirsty and they lacked the chakra capacity to make truly unbeatable opponents. The man was wearing a bright true red shirt with a large white circular loop on the back. Those were the Haruno's colors and would likely be the colors Sakura was dressed in.

He reached Sakura's door and knocked, expecting the maid he had sent to help her get ready earlier to answer. Really he didn't see why he should have to escort her down it wasn't like he couldn't trust her. The Haruno's had been loyal to his family even longer than they had been the guardians of the Underworld. Although Neji had never seen Sakura before this he had used to see her father quite often when his uncle was still the lord mostly before and during the war. He had wondered what had changed during that time, since his uncle had still been the lord for a few more years afterward. Now after Kakashi's story he could see why he hadn't been around; the strain of having found their daughter but, his family losing theirs most likely made them feel guilty. It was likely that he had never heard of Sakura because for his aunt and uncle it had likely been a taboo topic.

Neji wanted to change the situation. The Harunos would be good allies to have and for him, there wasn't a good enough reason for such a long-standing union to have dissolved over something neither family could have controlled. Despite the fact that Sakura had practically trampled all over his authority while she was in his house, Neji wanted to gain her companionship. She was an uncommon woman and because of that a complete mystery to him. She utterly confused him sometimes with her lack of ambition to marry well, her strive to be physically stronger, and her motives to carry out this mission for him. He didn't understand her, but above all he wanted to make things right between their families. If he were being truthful to himself he would admit that he also wanted to know her better before he sent her off on practically a suicide mission. He was worried that would be what happened despite her confidence to the contrary. She was a good ninja already and a fast learner, but the Uchiha had years on her and he was getting particularly ruthless as of late.

Nonetheless Neji wanted to solve the rift between their allied families and he would start with Sakura since she would have some influence over her family, though he didn't think she would inherit the land without a spouse since the Haruno's land consisted mostly of humans and they normally were a stricter patriarchal society than that of the other races in the land and therefore wouldn't have as much influence as say a son might have, but it would be a start and for such a social and political cause it shouldn't encroach on human tradition too much. It wasn't as if it were an economic issue. If it were then it might have been more prudent to speak directly to the head of the house.

Neji realized his thoughts had wandered though he had only knocked seconds ago. Neji rapped his knuckles against the door again slightly harder than before. He didn't even have a chance for his thoughts to redirect themselves again when Sakura opened the door.

Instead of the cherry clothes he had expected to see all he saw was one of his mother's favorite dresses. He remembered it well and it looked just as gorgeous on Sakura as it did on his mother. From her hips upward the dress molded to her body the pretty silk sash underneath her bust highlighting her slim feature. The skirt of the dress flared out just a hint through the skirt though it was unnoticeable until the bottom. Her long hair was curled and piled on top of her head with a few curls left to escape to frame her face. Her sea-foam green eyes were accented with a hint of khol and her high cheekbones with pink blush. She was gorgeous, perhaps much prettier than any other of those simpering creatures he had seen. Her exotic features were entrancing and her stubborn personality alluring.

Neji shook himself out of the short trance he'd been in. That just wouldn't do to be panting over his spy and a daughter of a noble. He brushed his reaction off as a side effect of not seeing any women except his servants in weeks.

"Sakura-san," he acknowledged her.

She gave a curt nod her features a little strained from tension. "When you introduce me to this other god, please only use my first name. It would be awful if the news got out that I was staying here. It's one thing if the servant's know who I am, but if Sasuke caught wind of it. Well…," She trailed off letting the obvious go unstated.

"I see. That is a wise move. We should get moving, unless there is something else?" Neji prompted.

Without further provocation Sakura placed her arm in the crook of his waiting arm and started out toward the dining room where Neji's guest was waiting. The walk down was silent. Sakura gave her escort a sideways glance and noticed that he was dressed in matching colors. It was fairly obvious that the other maid had believed they were together, since the only time people wore matching colors with the lord was when they held some familiarity; either they were related by blood, married, or courting. Now that Sakura thought about it she could see why the maid could have mistaken such a thing, since Hyuga Neji was infamous for not keeping a woman around longer than a day. She had been around for a few weeks, the servants must think they were interested in each other and suddenly the cook's behavior made more sense. The verbal attack hadn't been random it had actually been well called for since no one really knew who she was. A deep blush covered her cheekbones. It was no wonder the cook had asked and the maid had made assumptions about her and Neji, she had stayed in his room last night after all. It was a wonder the cook had even believed her words.

Sakura looked at the other God's back as he was turned away from her. His blond hair and stance seemed very familiar…

Neji cleared his throat, unwilling to talk to another's back. The male turned around quickly.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, before she launched herself into his arms and hugged him. It had been months since Sakura had last seen him. Now she knew why, Naruto had obviously taken full control of his title and his time was most likely stretched too thin with the recent turmoil to come and visit her all the time like he used to.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto said amazed as he gathered her in his strong arms and squeezed her tight till she let out a small laugh. She was excited to see Naruto, it had been far too long and though exuberant, Sakura had missed his presence in her life.

Neji for his part inwardly sighed, it figured she would know yet another of his close acquaintances. There could be no surprising her though he was a little shocked that he'd knew heard of her because if their embrace could be trusted it seemed like Naruto was close to this woman and Naruto loved to talk about all the people he'd met over the years. Just from watching Sakura-san for the previous few weeks he was willing to bet they had become friends in some sort of interesting way. It was very surprising that he hadn't heard Sakura's name dropped beforehand.

"What are you doing here Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked quietly. He had heard of the recent attack on her province by Sasake and hoped she wasn't suffering from any emotional injuries.

"Neji-san will tell you later if he thinks it appropriate," Sakura nodded toward Neji letting him know that she was fine with telling Naruto if that was what Neji wanted to do.

Naruto's blue gaze became worried. "Sakura-chan, you aren't going to do anything dangerous are you?"

She didn't look him in the eye as she quietly said, "No." She convinced herself it wasn't going to be dangerous, Kakashi-sensei was already teaching her how to defend herself and get out of sticky situations. She knew what information she had to get and it wouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't _that _risky.

"Sasuke is a bastard. Don't give him your time or allegiance," he whispered.

"Never! He betrayed me. I can't believe you would even suggest that," Sakura half shouted in anger. "I'm not stupid and I'm not weak." She stressed the last word heatedly.

Neji took in the scene between two friends. That was the most serious he had ever heard Naruto and the most vehement he had seen Sakura be outside of when she had learned of Sasuke's raid of her province. It wasn't that she wasn't a passionate or emotional person, but she often hid behind cool reason and emotionless masks. He watched her carefully, she had obviously suffered greatly by Sasuke's hand and this mission was an act of defiance on her part. She didn't want him controlling her life anymore.

Neji found himself inexplicably curious about his female guest. It seemed that he could only gain bits and pieces of her character. It was frustrating not to know a lot about his guest while she seemed to know many of his acquaintances and could even assist in running his estate, though she hadn't had any experience on his land.

Sensing the heavy mood between the two friends, Neji welcomed his guest to diffuse the atmosphere. Once the proper pleasantries were noted, Sakura made her way toward her violin which was tucked into a corner. Just as she was about to play, Naruto interrupted, "Sakura-chan, are you playing tonight?"

At Sakura's nod Naruto pouted and whined, "B-but Sakura-chan I wanted you to dine with us."

Neji knew this was the beginning of a headache if he didn't give in. "That is fine if Sakura-san agrees to it."

"Someone has to provide entertainment Naruto and tonight it's my job so let me do it," Sakura stubbornly held. It wasn't that she didn't want to eat with Nartuto, but she had spent all day making sure this small dinner was going to be perfect and she wouldn't have it messed up just because Naruto preferred her company over her music.

"Please," Naruto whined. His sincere cerulean eyes bored into hers.

Sakura huffed, "Do you have a back-up musician? That's the only way I'll allow it."

She knew she was in trouble when Naruto's whole countenance brightened and his favorite catch-phrase came out, "I do! Believe it! I brought my harpist just in case Neji didn't have one in place."

Sakura groaned, "Naruto, when did you pick up a harpist?"

"A few months ago," he shrugged like it was a common occurrence. Neji raised a brow, what did it matter that Naruto had found a musician?

"Naruto! Do you know how rare it is to find a harpist?" Sakura said as she rubbed her fingers in soothing circles on her temples. She could definitely feel a headache coming on.

"No…?"

"Harpists are a very rare find, because the instrument is so expensive, not many people have the money to afford them. If you found a random person on the street who could play harp, they are most likely hiding something, like being an exile or something. How many times have I told you to be careful of whom you trust?" She lectured irately.

Naruto looked a little crestfallen. "But Sakura-chan, she's a really nice girl and she's quiet too. I think you would like her."

Sakura sighed, "You might as well bring her out to play. I guess if she hasn't betrayed you yet, she probably won't at all. Please tell me that you haven't let her into any truly important meetings?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "Of course not."

"Naruto, you really are an idiot," she said.

This time Neji groaned, "I hope nothing has leaked. This situation is already a disaster."

"Neji-san, I don't anything has leaked. Naruto is normally a good judge of character even if he generally trusts too easily." Sakura gently comforted the male, "I'm sure everything is fine."

Meanwhile, Naruto called for his instrumentalist and help with setting up her instrument in the room. The instrument came first. The harp sat gleaming in the corner after two men brought it in from Naruto's stuff.

The trio silently awaited the girl's arrival. When the sound of footsteps carried into the room from the wooden hallways, three sets of eyes riveted to the door to watch the girl's entrance.

The girl walked in the room with her eyes trained downward. She had long dark hair and angled bangs that highlighted her delicate features. She sent one quick sweeping gaze at the other occupants of the room before swiftly returning her eyes to the ground.

That was all it took though, Sakura had seen her striking lavender eyes. "Hinata-chan?" Sakura breathed out in disbelief. It wasn't possible, was it? She looked like her Hinata had and those eyes were practically a trademark of the Hyuga.

The young woman's entire face snapped upward and her body tensed, "W-what?" she stuttered out.

* * *

A/N : Wow I feel really guilty for not updating in so long. So guilty in fact that I didn't even have this chapter beta'd. (My lovely betas if you read this just let me know where my mistakes are please :) This is a very raw chapter so hopefully it's not too bad. I can't make any promises for the next chapter, but I will try to start writing it right away. Thanks for reading!

Please Review

HarmonyRose


	10. Story Time

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, I'd already be dead because you would all kill me for keeping this chapter from you for so long.  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

**Chapter Ten: Story Time**

In that moment Sakura knew who she was looking at, not only did this girl look exactly like an older Hinata, but she sounded like her. Sakura couldn't believe it. It had been so long since she'd seen the girl.

There hadn't been a trace of evidence she had survived. What had happened?

Where had Hinata been all this time?"Hinata! It is you," Sakura quietly exclaimed."Sakura-chan... It's been a long time since I've been called Hinata-chan by anyone," the dark haired girl murmured softly. She was looking up now and her eyes widened when they came to rest on her cousin, Neji. He was observing her with curious eyes, it had been a long time since he had seen her but it wasn't possible to fake the eyes they were a family trait and absolutely impossible to replicate. He was suspicious though, why hadn't she come home earlier? She was nearly twenty-one years old; surely she could have found a way home?

"Neji," Hinata breathed out softly and with a hint of fear in her voice. She had never had a very good relationship with her elder cousin, though she hadn't known why."Hinata, where have you been all these years? Why didn't you return home?" Neji asked the question on everyone's mind.

Hinata timidly began to explain, "After I was first captured..." Sakura looked away in shame. She remembered very clearly that it was all her fault that they had been captured. In addition she knew that Hinata was the only one still alive that had witnessed her killing two men. Hot burning shame and self-disgust tore through her. She hated herself for all the pain she knew she had caused. Hinata had been dragged through a nightmare and had lost so much more in the process; her family, her position as heir, her safety, and a happy childhood. Sakura wanted to leave the room, wanted to wallow in misery by herself and get away from what she was sure to be an accusing glare from the girl she had once called her best friend. Hinata stopped abruptly when she saw Sakura's look of self-loathing; she knew that Sakura believed she had a reason to blame herself for everything that had occurred. Neji and Naruto were puzzled as to why she stopped and Sakura's eyes snapped up to her lavender-tinted irises."Sakura," she murmured. "It's not your fault. I've never blamed you and neither did the other man." Sakura flinched at the mention of the other prisoner. She had both their faces at the time of his murder etched deeply into her memory, because their accusing stares were in every nightmare and sleepless night she had endured.

Hinata continued firmly, "Sakura, that man's death is not your fault. The blame lies solely on the man that captured us."Sakura on the verge of tears protested hoarsely, "It's my fault we were out in an unprotected area. It was my hand that held the blade, and it was _I _who killed the other man. My hands are filthy! It's always been my fault even if you don't blame me. You've lost so much from this, how can you not blame me?"

"I don't blame you because none of that is or has ever been your fault and it's not your fault that I was unable to come back," Hinata remarked seriously, but the tone of her voice was gentle.

Naruto was looking between both girls with a confused look in his cerulean eyes. He wondered what the hell they were talking about. Hinata Hyuga had been missing for more years than he had known Sakura and Sakura was hardly a cold-blooded killer now, let alone when she was just a little girl. Whatever Sakura thought she did wrong was likely inevitable. Naruto knew that she easily took the blame for perceived faults rather than any actual wrong-doing. He had seen her do it many times with that bastard Sasuke. Sakura, Naruto noted, was a tough woman except, when she felt she was at fault. She would back off, take the blame and guilt like everything bad that ever happened was her fault and beat herself up for it. It was how Sasuke had broken her and why she had gotten depressed when he left. Sasuke had always let her take the blame for everything, never made her feel worthy, and had always made her believe that she was too incompetent for him. That somehow it was because of her that he had left instead of his own incompetence and failures. No matter how many times that he had told her in the past she never let her guilt go. Over the years she had covered it up with bitterness for Sasuke's betrayal, but he knew it was still there. It lingered in her eyes whenever that teme's name was mentioned.

Sakura visibly settled down, but the guilt had not diminished, nor had it appeared to. Neji could still see that she wanted to take the blame, wanted anxiously for it not to be her fault, but that she knew it was. His piercing silver eyes observed the unbridled emotion she was showing in the tightness of her jaw, the downward slope of her lips, and the glassy look from a sheen of moisture, over her dulled sea-foam colored eyes. She wanted Hinata to tell her that even if it was her fault it was okay. Sakura Haruno wanted, no _needed, _Hinata to forgive her. He could tell she hadn't and wouldn't begin to let the matter go unless Hinata had given her absolution. However, he highly doubted that Hinata would ever see that and she would likely continue to just tell her that the incident was not her fault. That would do nothing to ease the other girl suffering. Neji felt something close to pity for the woman who was desperately drowning in her misplaced sense of responsibility. This was not her fault, but she made it her responsibility. It was a careless mistake, which otherwise wouldn't have resulted in more than a spanking had the girls been caught by anyone else. It was made when she was tiny and she should never have taken all the guilt for it. He pitied and admired her for it. He admired that she was able to see that her actions (sometimes) had devastating consequences; life was really never fair. And he admired that she had a strong sense of responsibility, it would make her an excellent ruler, pity she was a woman and couldn't rule except through marriage. Frankly though, he wasn't sure who would want to marry her. She had such a sharp tongue and wouldn't let anyone rule over her but, herself.

Hinata drew him out of his perusal of his violinist with the continuation of her story."After the initial," there was a slight pause in her words, before she continued hesitantly, "event the ninja that was supposed to be rescuing me blew up the building, took me and ran for it. It took me a few hours to realize he wasn't headed to either the Hyuga or Haruno estates. I was unsure of what to do so I played dumb, but the next day we ran into some rogue ninja and while he was engaged in battle I ran off. I'm unsure of what happened to him, but I rather hope he suffered," Hinata finished vehemently a fierce look in her normally placid eyes.

"He is the reason I have been unable to return all these years. I was such a young child and I had no idea where he had taken me. I was unable to get back on my own and I was naturally wary of any and all strangers after I had been kidnapped twice. Those first few months were terrible I merely traveled from town to town scavenging and staying hidden. I now know that I was headed in the completely wrong direction and I ended up along the sea faring kingdoms in the south before I got any of my bearings. However, by that time almost a year had passed since our side had won the war and I heard earth shattering news; all the Hyugas had died except the fourteen year old nephew of the ruler. I knew it to be you Neji-san, but at the time I hadn't been thinking rationally and I had only become more paranoid living on the streets. I believed that since we never had the best relationship that it would be at the very least stupid to come here and at the most suicidal," Hinata completed her tale softly and apologetically.

_Lavender eyes chanced a look up at vegetable venders she was covertly stealing food from. Hinata kept her face neutral, not allowing the grimace that wanted to surface on her face out. She hated that she had to steal to eat but, at the moment there was no room for regret; living was more important to her than a few vegetable were for a merchant. As her pale eyes surveyed the man, she noticed he was talking rather animatedly for an everyday conversation, but that was a good thing since it meant he wasn't paying a lick of attention to anything else. Just as she was about to leave she heard a name leave the merchants mouth that made her stop in her tracks, "The Hyugas?"_

_Cautiously with an air of normality the young girl stepped closer. She wanted to hear any shred of news about her family. She hoped that soon she could make her way back home. As she inched closer her heart beat faster she hadn't heard news about any of her family since she went missing. _

"_It's true!" the other merchant said. "The Hyuga family was killed off last week. I just heard the news from my cousin who lives…" She stumbled backward a step. The words were drowned out by the absolute stillness of her mind. It just wasn't possible. Now she would never get to see her mother, her sister, or father again. Tears welled in her lavender eyes, but it wouldn't do to shed them as openly as she didn't want to call attention to herself or obviously different eyes. She wasn't much of a liar and her eyes were a trademark of the Hyuga and with so much attention already on the dead family it wouldn't be good to give herself away crying over something she had no control or ability to stop. She would cry, but she would do it by herself in peace. _

_Hinata's mind tuned back into the conversation just as the first merchant was filling in more information, "No one knows who did it."_

"_How odd," the other merchant replied._

"_Yeah. Oh! But there is one survivor, he's been cleared by the council though, so it wasn't him that had everyone killed. Besides he's just a fourteen year old kid he couldn't have murdered all the Hyuga," stated one of the merchants candidly._

"_Which Hyuga survived?"_

_The vegetable seller pondered the answer and shrugged as he spoke, "I believe it was a cousin to the main family, his name begins with an 'N' I think."_

_Though Hinata had brightened bit at there being a survivor her mood quickly dimmed, the sad light coming overtaking her eyes, as she realized who they were talking about. "Neji-san," whispered Hinata, but it was loud enough for the two vegetable merchants to hear._

"_Yeah! Hyuga Neji is his name," the vendor said as he turned toward the source of the information. Hinata had frozen she hadn't meant to call any attention to herself._

"_Gomen, I must be going," Hinata mumbled softly before taking off in a fast paced walk. Her thoughts wandered toward the distressing news she had heard. There was no use going home now there was no more friendly faces there and who even knew if it was safe?_

Neji's lips tilted downward; he was part of the reason Hinata hadn't returned home. Although he knew their relationship had always been a little _rocky_ due to clan politics he would never have harmed her. His brow furrowed when he spoke, "You could have come home. It would have been welcomed."

"It felt safer to stay," she replied a bit sheepishly. Now she knew she could have come home, but she hadn't before. It appeared that her cousin had grown up in the years that she had been gone. Perhaps, just maybe they could be family again.

"It was foolish not to, you would have been much safer here than if someone had recognized you," His frown turned into thinly pressed lips.

"I realize that now, but I was just a little girl when I made my decision. I'm afraid I wasn't always quite as rational as you were," Hinata lightened the mood of their conversation with the small quip on her cousin's standard demeanor.

Neji's lipped twitched in a semblance of a smirk. "I don't doubt that," he agreed.

Sakura had long past had tears in her eyes and slowly, without a sound her tears fell like rain off a smooth petal. Neji almost couldn't believe that this woman, who had shown more of a variety of emotions than he had thought possible in a ten minute time span, was the same woman who had never let him see anything other than her anger and indifference. Breaking out of his reverie Neji inquired, "How did you manage to come under Naruto's employ?"

"Well, after awhile I realized that unless I wanted to become a professional thief I would have to earn my living, so I chose the only thing I was reasonably good at. There was a sweet elderly couple that was quite wealthy and had put out an ad for a musician. I was introduced and it was my luck that they had a harp on hand. It was old and hadn't been played in at least a decade, but it was beautifully tuned," Hinata said with a faraway look in her eyes.

"You were always very good at the harp. I remember that you were decent at piano as well," Sakura murmured.

Hinata answered back a slight smile with a slight smile in her lavender tinted eyes, "By that time, it had maybe been three years since I had touched an instrument. I barely remembered the piano, but I remembered the harp and most of the songs. Likely, because I spent each evening during those first few years mentally going over every song I had ever heard. Playing music was the one thing I missed the most, aside from my family of course."

"That must have been hard," Sakura murmured thinking about anytime she had to go without her violin for any length of time. Music was what kept Sakura going most days. It was how she lived. It was her peace and her escape; she didn't have to concentrate on the outside world. Absolutely nothing was important except, the next string of notes, when she was playing and it calmed her soul better than any meditation she had ever participated in. To be cut off from that source of comfort would have been terrible for her and Sakura nearly physically grimaced at the thought.

"It was a bit, but the elderly couple let me play as often as I wished." Hinata said before continuing to explain, "I played for nearly five years for the couple, I was nearly nineteen at the time that I stopped, and they considered me somewhat like a granddaughter I suppose. At that time they arranged a marriage for me and knowing that that wasn't what I wanted no matter how kind these people had been to me, I gathered up my earnings through the years and a few precious possessions. I had been traveling for nearly a year and a half before Naruto-sama…"

That was as far as Hinata got before Sakura burst out laughing. Nobody, absolutely nobody that Sakura knew of called Naruto, the blond hyperactive god, Naruto-sama. The idea was entirely too ridiculous to consider. "Hinata-chan, has Naruto let you call him that?" Sakura managed to get out amid her laughter.

Perplexed Hinata merely cocked her head to the side.

"He has you call him Naruto-sama?" Sakura asked trying very hard not to cry from laughing so hard. She tried to school her features by choking down her laughter and tightening her lips as if that could stop the sound from bubbling up. By this time even Neji's mouth had curved upward in a small smile.

Naruto scowled, "I told her to call me Naruto or even Naruto-san, but she insists on the formal version."

"Hinata, nobody calls him Naruto-sama, not even my rule conscious parents on the few occasions that they deal with him. He is too…," She paused searching for the correct adjective before settling. "Just Naruto I suppose. If that makes any sense. Formalities just don't suit him."

"Oh… but, he is a god. Shouldn't his title befit him? I couldn't address him as anything less. I'm just a simple musician," Hinata answered. A blush spread across her face. She was mortified to be discussing this in front of Naruto. She already felt little in his presence and it wasn't just his physical being, he had a huge aura. When Naruto walked into the room, it was like the sun had just come out. Everything was brighter and the world looked a little less messy and gruesome.

"Err, well yes, he is a god, but in case you don't remember, you are also from a long standing family of gods. Hell, neither I nor my parents are at Naruto's rank. We are just lords over a single providence and we never refer to Naruto in any sort of formal address," Sakura tried to explain.

"Sakura-chan, your family rules over one of the largest providence and thanks to your family's competence it isn't actually part of any of the god's domains. Your family remains independent because they can deal with it themselves. Through your political moves and marriages you manage to be on good terms with almost all of the races and countries. Even after living on the outside for so many years, I know that your land is one of the most stable. You owe no allegiance to any god or their allies, since you don't need any other god's protection, though you have traditionally given your fealty to a single family, you needn't bow to anyone even if you come from a long line of mostly humans," Hinata deadpanned at Sakura's subservient act. Really Sakura's family was by far the most influential human family around.

"However," Hinata paused slightly. "I suppose you are right. I am of a similar rank by birth," she said her eyes flickering from demurely lowered lids at Naruto and then back to Sakura.

Neji's eyes narrowed a bit as he thought that it really was strange that he had never heard of Sakura. Even with their families' history in all these years he should have heard at least something, especially since he was a young bachelor. All the influential and even some of the non-influential class were trying to get their daughters known, so that they would have a hand in more of the land's politics. He knew for a fact though that Sakura was who she said she was, because she looked so similar to her father, except for her odd hair and eye coloring. Her petite stature definitely hadn't come from her paternal lineage either. He wondered though, was something not right with Sakura? Neji's brow wrinkled, as far as he knew the Haruno's had no other children, which in and of itself was odd for a ruler family with the first born as a girl. He supposed he would just have to ask her later.

Hinata began to continue with her tale, "Anyways, Naruto-san found me a year and a half later, I was traveling around playing for any tavern, residence, or small party that wanted me too. The elderly couple had given me enough money over the years to buy my own harp so, other than transporting it around I had an easy time after I left them. But, for the last few months or so I have been playing for Naruto-san."

Naruto spoke then, "The first time I heard her play was in one of those rowdy bars and the reason I could even hear her play was all the patrons had already stopped to listen to her. There was hardly a noise in the whole place but, her. The music was beautiful. I've heard the song she played countless times, but never, ever played so smooth and entrancing."

Hinata looked down at the floor hiding the red tint of her cheeks. To hear praise from the god of music, someone she respected very much, was overwhelming. He had treated her very kindly over the last few months, even taking the time to talk to her a few times to find out how she was settling into his estate. He compensated her well for her work, both monetarily and with effusive praise.

Sakura smiled gently at Naruto and Hinata. He spoke so highly of her and she obviously, at the very least admired the blond. Her heart warmed to see her oldest friend who she felt so much guilt over, being well- taken care off.

Neji broke the surprising serene calm (Naruto was in the group after all) that had settled over the group by pondering aloud, "The only question left to answer is: What are we going to do? Would you like to continue staying with Naruto until after we deal with Uchiha Sasuke, so that you are safe or would you rather take your place as an heiress?"

"She would be in a lot more danger that way and I don't really see how there is an upside to that," Sakura stated. Her brow furrowed and she pursed her lips as she went over a list of possible political outcomes.

"Well it would be one way to get the council off your back Neji," Naruto grinned mischievously.

Sakura rounded on the god, "That's what they've been bothering you about? An heir?" Sakura knew why he wouldn't mention anything now; no doubt he had had enough pressure from the council and the female population in general. He probably hadn't wanted to run the risk that she would try to take advantage of her position at his estate. But really, it was just a bit insulting and Sakura had to soothe her pride, she would never throw herself at another man again.

Besides it wouldn't be very advantageous for her family to marry someone who already ruled over large amounts of land. Since she had no siblings, she would take her father's position when she reached age or if something happened. If she married someone like that she would be forced to join their lands and he would by tradition be able to rule over her people too. His allies would become hers and his enemies likewise would be hers as well. Not that she thought Neji would do that to her or her people, but it was a risk she was unwilling to take. Her rule wouldn't depend on her getting married like most other human titles. She was half nymph so she would easily live much longer than any of her human ancestors. Her people and her lands were too important to Sakura for her to even consider trusting someone for years on end like that. If it were just herself she wouldn't have a problem. If it were just herself than she would know that the person had no ulterior motives, but the problem was that as the only heir. She needed to be responsible and Sakura swore to herself a long time ago that she would be.

_Sakura stood blankly staring out a window overlooking her future kingdom. The weight of Hinata's death a few months ago still left her feeling debilitated. She never wanted another event like that to happen again. Sweeping her eyes over the lands Sakura's resolve hardened; from now on she would do her best to be responsible for the land. She would never be able to make purely selfish decisions and her trust would be hardly given. She couldn't be taken or tricked again. If she allowed herself to be manipulated than all would be lost and her land could soon be in tatters._

_Drawing herself up to her full height Sakura decided. She went out through the front door and walked across to where the forest met the property. Sakura took a sharp kunai out from a hidden pouch, the only thing her parents had conceded to let her carry for protection, and laid the sharp edge against the fleshy part of her hand. _

"_I, Haruno Sakura, pledge to protect these lands and these people with all my might, mind, and soul. Should I fail, may my blood run together with that of my enemies. With my blood may this promise be binding," she proclaimed as the blade cut into her skin. The crimson liquid pooled in her hand. Gently with her right hand she spread the blood over the entirety of her palm. She raised her hand and pressed it into the first tree of the forest. A glowing rose colored light encased Sakura and the tree. Softly, as Sakura pulled her hand gradually from the tree, the light diminished._

_When she turned around to go back inside, Kakashi-san, her guard for the time being asked her grimly, "You have no idea what you've done, do you?"_

"_No Kakashi-san, I know exactly what I've done," Sakura responded as her eyes boring into his._

_Kakashi sighed, took her arm and just gently led her back to the house. _

After a slight pause Neji answered the worry from the last few weeks lining his face, "Yes."

"Whatever," Sakura said as she turned away from him and began heading for the door. "We should decide in the morning after a rest. I'm not hungry anymore anyways."

Glancing at the table, the rest of them noticed the food had long since grown cold. Neji sighed, "I'm not hungry either. Take the guest rooms in the east wing. We will speak more in the morning."

The pale eyed god headed for his study he still had much to do and too much work to put off.

* * *

Would you believe I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated in forever? I didn't mean for it to happen, but I just either haven't felt like writing or I was too busy. Speaking of which, I'm not sure when the next update will be because, I will be going off to college soon and I'm really busy. I'll try though.

Also, I know this wasn't a particularly interesting chapter, but it should get better. Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated.

HarmonyRose


	11. Too Much Paperwork

**Title: **Broken Cadence  
**Author/Artist: **HarmonyRose  
**Claim:** Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuga  
**Theme: **# 27-Violin  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.  
**Summary: ** The end of all things should have come to a close under the prevailence of peace. However, history will forever repeat itself, and the ceaseless threat of war is continuously just over the horizon.

**Chapter Eleven: To Much Paperwork**

Sakura caught Neji in front of his dark stained door just before he slipped into his office. She frowned perusing his haggard appearance and said, "To bed, now."

He raised his brow and pursed his lips before speaking, "I have paper work waiting."

In a typical feminine move, Sakura stuck her hip out and put a warning hand on it. "It'll be waiting in the morning too," she said as she snagged one of his wrists and began leading him toward his room.

Neji tugged his wrist tiredly. He just wasn't able to put up too much of a fight; it had been too long of a day for that.

"Tell you what, Hyuga-san if you sleep tonight after my training tomorrow I will assist with anything you need me to," Sakura offered.

Nodding his head slowly, Neji reluctantly agreed. As much as he didn't want help he sorely needed it and Shikamaru was only an advisor and no matter how much he trusted him, traditionally it wasn't a good idea to have you're advisor help you do the actual paperwork. Besides Shikamaru was possibly the laziest elf in existence, so no matter what that wouldn't really do. Naruto, despite the fact that he would likely happily help, had his own affairs to deal with. Kakashi had been out of the position for many years and despite how good of a ruler he had been at one point he wasn't really trained in the minute and tedious aspect of the position since his parents had died so young. So really he would just have to entrust himself to Sakura who seemed to have a lot of knowledge about ruling a country despite being a female.

Laying in bed a few minutes later, Neji promised himself that he would inquire about the queer little woman who had taken up residence in his home. Shikamaru likely knew the whole story behind her or at the very least why he had never heard of her. For now though he needed some rest.

* * *

By the time Neji had woken up the next morning and eaten breakfast, Sakura had already finished her self-practice session. She wouldn't have a lesson with Kakashi until much later that afternoon. It was set for three o'clock, but Sakura knew it would be closer to five or six before her sensei even considered showing up.

So when Neji showed up at his office door, for the second time in less than twelve hours, Sakura was waiting for him. He took quiet steps toward the woman who has half turned away from him. The faraway look in her sea-foam green eyes and slight mar in the arch of her brow suggested that she was reminiscing, however if his sudden presence startled her at all, she gave no indication.

He nodded to her when her face lost its tension and her eyes riveted to his face. Neji opened the door and held it for her, politely waiting till she was all the way in the room before making his way to his stiff office chair. She sat opposite of him and gave him an expectant stare.

He looked at her appraisingly. She was wearing a simple muslin dress with sheer flowing sleeves. The only color adorning the dress was the ribbon tied just above her natural waist. It was colored her clan's vibrant red. She looked beautiful in it. He whipped his eyes back up to her face immediately. He wasn't allowed to think that way about actual nobility. She was completely off limits unless he wanted to marry her.

"How much do you know about trade agreements?" he asked.

"Quite a bit," she paused for a moment not wanting to sound like a braggart, "I was the reason the Haruno-Sabaku agreement was proposed last year."

Neji stared at her shock. That was a big deal. The Harunos had maneuvered the Sabaku clan into a free trade agreement that benefitted not only them but also several other minor clans. What was so significant about the agreement was that the Sabaku clan hadn't accepted any type of agreement in decades. They had been isolationists for nearly forty years. It wasn't just that, though the Harunos didn't have any true enemies, but there wasn't any love between them either. Traditionally they never agreed on anything. Any agreement was amazing, but one that didn't benefit only them had been genius. It had just enough minor concessions on both sides and surprisingly had gone through without a hitch.

"I'd say you were more than qualified to read though several of these agreements and give me an overview of them when you are done. So that I can make a decision on it," he said raising his left brow.

"Likely, yes," Sakura stated dryly.

Neji handed her over a thick stack of crisp paper. "Not that you will, but if you have any questions please ask," Neji asked as politely as possible since he didn't want to anger his volunteer. Sakura nodded solemnly she knew how important it was to be a competent ruler. One person's rule affected many people. For her even the thought of ruling and knowing that one day it would be entirely her responsibility to look after her people was a humbling thought.

For a while the only sound in the room was the sound of an occasional rustle of paper. Sakura was midway through the thirty page document when her eyes narrowed sharply. "Hyuga-san, you export iron and iron based ninja weapons right?"

A simple nod was all that was needed to make Sakura's scowl deepen. "Then this document is nothing but a scam to get the Underworld to lower their prices on those goods for the sake of Earth country; likely so that they can stab you in the back quite literately," she nearly growled the last part out.

"My guess is that they are preparing for some sort of conflict and are hoping that you don't have enough time to read through this entire document since the beginning starts out innocuously. It isn't till almost half-way through that their real intentions are carefully couched in terms of enabling more nations the ability to defend themselves," she said while showing him several key parts of the document.

"That was an utterly foolish thing for them to even consider. Why would anyone give their enemies more weapons while making less profit off of it?" Neji heatedly exclaimed. She agreed that would have been the height of stupidity.

"I think that they know you are using most of your resources on Sasuke and are hoping you will slip up. I also wouldn't put it past Earth country to be conspiring with him either," she warned.

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind." He took the document from her and handed her another of similar length.

"Can you read this one as well?"

Sakura didn't bother with a verbal response and instead grabbed the pro-offered document from his hand and began to read about potatoes, apples, and inflation.

It was late afternoon, four reasonable agreements and seven ridiculous proposals later that Sakura stood up and announced that she needed to go to her lesson with Kakashi. As she stood up she stretched tall and pushed her shoulders back. Neji's mouth went dry as he watched. His gaze was riveted to her as she stretched since it had the unintentional effect of pushing her chest out. He caught himself moments later as she opened her bright sea foam eyes. Being caught staring at the temperamental female was out of the question.

"Before you go," he said haltingly, "I would like your advice."

She turned fully toward him and waited for him to continue. She didn't know what this was about so she listened closely.

"Well I guess it is two issues I would like your opinion on," he continued unsure if this was a wise idea.

"Go on."

She seemed to know what she was talking about everywhere else and had done nothing to endanger his kingdom so far. He nodded giving himself a bit more confidence. This was the right decision to at the very least ask her opinion. "Do I give up this position to Hinata? She is the rightful heir. It would quiet down the rebellions protests that there wasn't a secondary heir."

Neji had sounded so unsure of his position that Sakura allowed the compassion that she felt leak into her voice as she answered, "I think you should ask Hinata what she wants first. She didn't answer last night and something tells me that she would be rather hesitant to take over the position. While she might make a wonderful ruler, if she doesn't want the position it would do no good to give it to her."

"It could stop the rebellion though," he commented.

"Well, it could, but that doesn't mean it will. Rebellions are not often about what they purport to be about. In this instance we know that the people themselves didn't think this up, but rather that it was Uchiha Sasuke that stirred up people and created a mob. Mob mentality once it is started is hard to appease, because it is a bunch of people convinced that their cause is true and unless you do exactly what they want you to do you will not diffuse them unless you take out their leader. However even if you do exactly what they want without taking out their leader it would be pretty hopeless, because these people are followers and will listen to the next idea their leader convinces them off and that could be an even more dangerous cause," Sakura said quickly so that she could get her point across without being interrupted or losing her procession of thoughts.

"Also, unless Hinata really does want this position then you might create instability where there was none before."

"You are right. I hadn't thought of it in that manner before. I will ask Hinata this evening what she thinks," Neji said more firmly than he thought he would have been able to considering he was talking about giving up his position.

"You might also consider asking Kakashi-sensei for his opinion about it," Sakura gently advised.

As Neji had entirely forgotten that he had such a valuable asset under his own roof he was glad she had brought up such an obvious resource of mob rule and unstable governments.

"And what was the second matter?" she asked.

"Well the council has demanded I take a wife so that I may have an heir and to quiet the rebellions. I was wondering if you thought I was being unreasonable in demanding that I wouldn't take a wife," he asked curious to know what she thought though he had an inkling from her wise words on rebellions already.

"Take a wife when you find someone who will be good for your kingdom. If that is now then that's good, but if not then in the long run your kingdom will be worse off. Do not give in just because of the rebellion, unless it becomes absolutely necessary and even then do so with caution. You will be letting someone have a lot of control over you and your domain," Sakura answered carefully. She had already given this issue a lot of thought for her own situation regarding ruling with a mate or without one. Granted she didn't have a madman specifically after her throne but she did have a couple of plotting relatives from both sides.

Besides she knew how well marriages of conveniences could fail like was the case with her own parent's distant alliance. She wouldn't even call it a marriage because, the only amount of affection that had ever happened between them was the night she was conceived. They weren't bitter enemies, but Sakura was often stuck between trying to please both of them; which was a rather difficult task when both of them were against each other on a regular basis.

"If that is all I should go before I am even later than Kakashi-sensei."

Neji nodded absently. He had enough to think about this afternoon.

Neji knew that Sakura had given him very sound advice, which was not something he would have expected of the girl when he had first met her. In fact, it was still weighing heavily on his mind that he had never even heard of her until she was dropped on his doorstep. She was an attractive young female and he hadn't heard so much of as a whisper about her from the other male lords who liked to gossip only slightly less than Yamanaka Ino.

He stood up and walked the short distance to the door. There should be a servant nearby, the head housekeeper liked to send at least one to hover around him just in case he unexpectantly needed something. He immediately saw one of his servants a few doors down and asked that Shikamaru be brought to his study. Neji knew that it would probably take at least a half hour for Shikamaru to arrive so, he sat back down, sighed and got back to work.

Absorbed in his work, Neji was nearly surprised when Shikamaru's familiar knock sounded on the door. He had forgotten that he had called for his advisor. The door opened and Shikamaru stepped up to his desk.

"My Lord?" he asked.

"It has come to my attention that I know nearly nothing about Haruno Sakura and I would like to know what you know about her," he answered, though he felt foolish for asking his advisor instead of just asking Sakura herself or looking up the information himself.

If Shikamaru was surprised about the query he showed none of it. He began to talk, his voice sounding just as exasperated as always, "I don't know very much about Sakura-sama, because she does not come to any of the troublesome functions that we attend. I know that she stays mostly at home and takes care of her land through diplomacy and treaties at the moment."

"Why does Sakura-san do the treaties instead of her father?"

"Well Sakura-sama is the only heir to the throne. Her parents never had another kid after her, because her mother is a nymph so she is allowed to ascend to the throne. I've also heard that while Sakura-sama's parents do not hate each other, they just tolerate each other so after they fulfilled the requirement of having an heir they did not try for another," Shikamaru continued.

"So Sakura-san is free to rule her kingdom, rather than having to find someone suitable to marry and rule over her and her kingdom?" Neji asked, he knew that nymphs and part nymphs were allowed to rule regardless of gender he just hadn't known that Sakura was part nymph. Traditionally Harunos had always been a human clan, so he had just assumed that Sakura was human too, though her odd hair and eye colors should probably have given it away to him.

"Essentially, yes. She'll have to eventually pick a husband to have an heir," answered Shikamaru.

"She is probably already being pressured to take a spouse by her parents and maybe even their counsel," mused Neji.

"Why would you say that? She's part nymph and not currently in any sort of life-threatening trouble."

"If she is Hinata's age then she is at least twenty-one and that would be old enough, for any parent or council to try and get a woman to marry, even if she was a nymph. Speaking from experience, if she's the only heir there is no way the council isn't nervous about her producing another heir as quickly as possible," Neji commented.

Shikamaru conceded that point.

"Besides, she gave wise advice when I asked about my own situation. It sounded as if she had already experienced something similar," said Neji.

"That's probably true then," said Shikamaru. After a brief moment he continued, "This is troublesome, but have you considered that maybe you should set up a match with Sakura-sama? You just called her wise, something you've never said about any other woman before."

Neji interrupted countering with, "I said that she said something wise. Not that she was wise."

Shikamaru spoke again, "You are able to work well with her and she helps keep you calm with her music."

"There is nothing special about her. She works for me and any music would help relax me. Besides I doubt she would want to combine our kingdoms, the Haruno's have worked hard to keep independent for centuries," Neji said, beginning to become exasperated with this talk.

"You could just have two separate heirs then. Yes, that would make for some pretty close ties, but the Haruno's are already closely allied with us. And that's what they've been doing for centuries, having a myriad of others marry into their family so that they don't have any enemies," refuted Shikamaru.

"I'm not even contemplating this. It's asinine."

"It would be good for you and your kingdom in the short run, because it would be two strong allies joining together and with this underhanded war going on that would give you the support you needed. In addition to that it would satisfy both councils. In the long run she would be good for your kingdom too. She has some experience running one and would be able to help get this one back up to par. You know it's not back up to its original stature," Shikamaru sighed, his master was so troublesome and stubborn sometimes.

"No and that's final," Neji said sternly.

Shikamaru gave up. He tucked his hands into his pockets and slouched out of the room. Shikamaru was beginning to see that his master was adamantly against all marriages on principal. It wasn't that there weren't suitable candidates it was that he didn't want a marriage at all and that wasn't going to make either his council or his fellow peers happy at all. Well, when they figured it out, since he wasn't going to tell them.

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A/N I'm so sorry I haven't written in ages and that nothing really important happens here. I'm hoping that since it's summer and I'm out of college I'll be able to write more. Also, I've lost my notebook with all my ideas for this story in it, so while I have a rough idea where I want this to go all the specifics are lost. Lastly, a special thanks to BlossomSakuraCherry for getting me into gear.

Anyways I would love if you reviewed.

Harmonyrose


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